Wildsong
by Breathing2nd
Summary: A collection of random asides from my current D&D campaign. They follow my original player character, Ayleth Wildsong, a wood elf druid, and her interactions with the two main loves in her life. Originally intended just to be her druid trainer, Ruthfin Sagewind, turned out to be a little bit more. That is, until her childhood best friend and first love Keremar Holimion shows back u
1. Golden Finches

_**(Okay, so, the story thus far...**_

_**Like many D&D groups, our band of adventurers were little more than strangers when our story begins. For her part, Ayleth Wildsong had been living alone in Lurkwood Forest as acting guardian, until she began having horrific visions of her forest burning into ash and was tasked by a Unicorn in that same vision to travel to Cragholm to seek out and destroy a terrible evil.**_

_**Long story short, our group met up in Cragholm, stopped a goblin attack together, then went off into a mine to seek out said evil. In the end, we destroyed what we thought was a trapped spirit in a crystal prison, when in fact, what we unleashed was the remains of a Lich. After smashing the crystal we were knocked out and awoke with pieces of the crystal prison embedded in our chest, essentially binding us all together for the quest ahead.**_

_**Fast forward a little and our group found themselves in the city of Neverwinter where we investigated the disappearance of several children and a few adults as well. We also had a few nasty run ins with a group of mercenaries known as the Crimson Lances (dicks). They were just pissed that we did a job that they never showed up to do. They were all assholes anyway and continued to make life difficult in Neverwinter. We eventually figured out that there was a cult gathering beneath the city, attempting to sacrifice elven and genasi children in order to bring the Lich back into her corporeal form.**_

_**Naturally, we put a stop to that shit and thwarted her plans for a new body...at least for the time being...**_

_**We even gained a wizard friend who offered to help us figure out what was stuck in our chest and how to be free of what was essentially a "curse".**_

_**The next day we decided to acquire the lumber Cragholm needed to rebuild. It was the reason we had set out to Neverwinter in the first place. Too bad the Crimson Lances had decided to ambush us at the lumber yard.**_

_**Lucky for the party, Ayleth had sent word to her Druid trainer days prior (after the incident with unleashing the lich) asking for help and guidance, and as the party set off toward the lumber yard, who should appear but Ruthfin Sagewind (her half-elven druid mentor). He aided them in fighting the mercenaries off and took Ayleth up on her offer of lodging for the evening so that they could catch up on the past few days events.**_

_**My first aside picks up here, just after the lumber yard fight with the Crimson Lances...)**_

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"Are you certain you're well?" It wasn't the first time she'd asked him since they'd left the carnage of the lumber yards.

The other druid gave her the same soft smile he'd flashed her each time she'd asked. She'd have said it was forced, but it always managed to reach his eyes.

"Nothing a little rest won't remedy."

Ayleth tried to keep her expression even, she hardly believed him, but she appreciated his bravado nonetheless. She knew that she might have answered similarly if the tables had been turned. Still, Ruthfin had been unconscious inside a burning building when they'd found him, and Zephyr, though a skilled Cleric, only managed to wake him from his helpless state. Ayleth had witnessed the Druid casting a healing spell upon himself during the fight and even so, she'd noticed the half-elf wincing from time to time since the fray.

The Wood Elf let it go for the moment and told herself she wouldn't pester him with it again. If he insisted he was well, then she would do her best to take him at his word. Though, the least she could offer him was a soft bed for his trouble. He had been there to help them, after all.

It was late, but being a tavern, the Golden Finch was still very much alive when they made their way back. The Halfling, Ponteous Proudhat, was quick to greet them with his thanks for saving his cousin and drinks were on the house. Ayleth took the opportunity to request their wine be sent up to her room along with whatever cheese, fruit and smoked meats were freshest. The day had been long and trying to say the least and they had scarcely had time for a meal.

Sartan and Zephyr trudged upstairs ahead of them and the half-orc Barbarian had slipped off to find some more stimulating sport for the evening. Ayleth drew her room key from a secure pouch around her waist and made for the stairs. She assumed the other Druid was following her but it took only a slight glance over her shoulder to confirm it.

When she'd reached her door at the back of the hall she looked up at the much taller half-elven man and asked, "Will you stay? A warm bed is the least I can offer you for your help." Her voice was flat, practical, and all business. A practiced skill.

As he started to nod she added, "A lot has happened in the days since we last spoke," Which coincidentally was the first day they'd met. "I feel I have much to tell you."

She was rewarded with another soft smile and Ayleth turned the thick metal key into the lock. The door creaked only slightly as she pushed it open and stepped inside the darkened room. With a whispered light in Elvish the candles on the wall flickered to life along with the small lantern near to the bed. Her Druidcraft swept through the room as she stood aside to allow Ruthfin to enter. She used it to not only light the space but also to fill the room with the faint scent of a meadow after a rain. The city of Neverwinter left much to be desired in terms of smells, at least for the Druid.

With the soft undulating light illuminating the room, their elven eyes easily took in their surroundings. The scruffy orange fur of Samir lay curled in a loaf atop the quilts covering the bed. His cinnamon colored ears twitched at the intrusion and he blinked open one emerald eye. He really was a rather striking feline, even if he was just dockside fodder.

"Hello again, Samir." Ayleth cooed into the room, closing the door behind them and placing the key into the lock from the inside so that no one from the outside could intrude on her privacy. "This is my friend, Ruthfin." She coined him as her friend without much forethought. Did she even consider her adventuring companions as friends? Did she consider anyone as friend ? Still, the title was out of her mouth so quickly, she decided it must have been true enough. As distrusting as she might have been of the other Druid initially, she had found a kind of comfort in his presence within only hours of meeting him. Seeing him again today had only rekindled that pleasant warmth she'd felt around him.

The cat opened his other eye and stretched his long body out across the blankets. He meowed a soft acknowledgement and Ayleth watched as Ruthfin moved deeper into the room. The taller man knelt next to the bed as the stray cat padded a little closer to the edge. There was a brief instant where Ayleth felt the tiny hairs at the base of her neck stand on edge. The sort of prickle of magic that was not her own and yet, completely familiar. A moment later she heard what amounted to soft purrs and chuffs from Ruthfin accompanied by the occasional mew and meow.

Samir eagerly chatted back, though without casting a spell of her own, Ayleth had no real way of knowing what was being said between the two. Still, watching Ruthfin's magic was beautiful in a way. It flowed through him as naturally as breathing. His connection to beasts and nature was mesmerizing and Ayleth found herself smiling as he glanced back at her.

"Samir here has been telling me how wonderful you have been to him." The other Druid flashed her an approving grin. "How you are a woman of your word and a caring and kind Mistress. Though, he was frightened of you that one time you turned into a bear before he knew you could change your shape."

Samir gave out a long meow at that and the wood elf could only chuckle and reply in common, "My apologies again, Samir."

Ruthfin stroked the cat between the ears and purred a few more docile tones toward the animal before standing and facing his elven companion. "And so, you have a cat." He murmured, clasping the broach at his throat that held his cloak on. He easily removed the article and folded it over one arm. A few stray bits of leaves and soot fell onto the wooden floor and a sudden sweeping sound caused the red-headed Druid to swivel on his heels. A broom, seeminging acting of its own accord, flew halfway across the room and began feverishly tidying the area around the half-elf.

"And an enchanted...broom?" Ruthfin marveled quietly, watching the strange floating broom make quick work of the mess.

Ayleth unfastened the Cloak of Elvenkind and draped it over the simple chair at the small desk. She reached out and took Ruthfin's from his arms as he continued to watch the magical cleaning tool swishing around him. "He's sentient too. Has a personality that is all his own." Ayleth mused, watching the broom for a moment before placing Ruthfin's cloak atop her own.

"Incredible."

"What? Never seen an enchanted, sentient broom before?" The wood elf teased.

Ruthfin's golden eyes finally focused on the elven woman. "No, I can't say we have many of those in Neverwinter Wood." He chuckled then. "A lot has happened since we last spoke...and in only a weeks time."

There was a gentle rapping on the door as Ayleth nodded a bit sheepishly. She turned the key and opened it, receiving her requested bottles of wine, glasses and plate of food. Ayleth placed a few coins in the halflings hand and thanked him quietly before closing and relocking the doors. Ruthfin closed the distance quickly, taking the platter and a bottle from her hands. Ayleth smiled softly in thanks and made quick work of opening the first bottle and getting the wine poured while Ruthfin nestled the platter of food and spare bottle of wine onto the large circular rug that spanned much of the bare floors in the room. The elf brought over two short goblets filled half-way, along with the already opened bottle of rich Dragonborn wine. She handed the one of the glasses to Ruthfin and then folded her legs beneath her into a position across from the half-elf.

"Yes, more than I can even believe really." She swirled the dark liquid in her glass and took a long draw from it, enjoying the subtle bite as it slid down her throat. She reached for a bunch of grapes and her fingers bumped his. They both drew back instinctively and Ayleth looked up to see his eyes locked on hers.

"After you…" He offered and there was a moment where Ayleth couldn't make her hand move. Her eyes focused on his. It was so strange, seeing such Elven eyes in such a human face. Pools of liquid gold, flecked with embers of deep emerald, as if his eyes were the dappling of sunlight in a spring canopy. The rich, spice color of his hair only accentuated the unnatural beauty of his eyes.

Ayleth quickly grabbed a bunch of grapes.

"Yes, thank you, as I was saying...much has happened." She swallowed one of the small fruits and tried not to watch him sipping his wine or biting into a ripe berry. She tried to keep from staring at the way his fingers curled around the glass or how his lips hid like well kept secret around the soft pelt of his beard.

She focused instead on telling him what had happened since they'd last spoke. It took and entire bottle of wine, but she managed to get through the events that had transpired over the last week. Everything from what they'd unleashed in the mines at Cragholm, to the sinister rituals being performed beneath the city streets of Neverwinter and even the near comical altercations with the late Crimson Lances.

She confessed to him how only hours before he'd arrived, she'd volunteered to attempt to locate the phillactary of the one whom they'd unleashed in the mines. In a vain hope of shedding some light onto the mystery of who had cursed them and how they might break that spell. She'd gone into another plane of existence naked and alone and for the first time, in a long time, Ayleth had felt fear.

"It was as if...she had reached down into my heart and coaxed fear into it." She set down her now empty glass. By now, less than half of the second bottle remained. "It was so cold it burned." Her eyes were distant, focused on the flickering light of the lantern they'd brought onto the floor with them. "So much rage and anguish, pent up for so long, twisted and warped until no light can ever hope to penetrate that sort of darkness. I felt it touch me and in that instant I knew she could steal the very essence of me." The words shuddered out of the elf as she remembered, gooseflesh prickling along her skin, and then she felt warmth spread over her cheek. Her eyes darted away from the lantern's flame to another kind of ember, golden and burning with a heat all their own.

Ruthfin touched the curve of her cheek. His hands were rough and smelled of the earth and fresh leaves but they were warm and real and brought her back to herself.

"But she didn't. You fought back against the darkness, Ayleth, and you emerged victorious." He was smiling softly and in that smile there was a kind of wonder Ayleth wasn't sure she'd noticed before.

"It lingers with me still, Ruthfin. I can feel it even now. That cold burning somewhere beneath my chest." She swallowed hard, absently inclining her head so that he cupped more of her cheek in his hand. Her own fingers traced the strange crystal that now resided just between her breasts.

"Ayleth…" he breathed her name. "Wild song of the forest, Druid of the Circle of Swords, know your power, for it is greater than you believe." His thumb brushed across her cheek as he held her gaze to him. There was conviction in those golden pools, so strong, Ayleth felt like it might smother her.

The movement was sudden, the long empty platter between them noisy as she clamored over it. One hand held her propped up while the other snaked beneath the fire hued hair of the half-elf before her and drew him forward. Her lips crushed against his, hungry and demanding, and to her slight surprise, his mouth was waiting, ready and eager to echo her demands. His lips parted for her, his tongue caressing her own as she rolled her body back onto her knees and heels, snaking her free hand between his folded legs and beneath the tunic that draped across his thighs. Her slender fingers slid along the brushed leather of his pants until she found the criss crossing ridges of the laces that held them on. With deft accuracy she pulled the slip knot free, even as she felt the leather stretch taught over his reacting body.

Ruthfin's lips broke away, breathless at her forward touch. Ayleth kissed him against his parted lips and whispered, "It doesn't have to mean anything…"

The half-elf swallowed the shudder in his breath as her small hand found the taut line of his groin. He drew back from her warm kiss only enough to speak, while his hand gently halted her expedition deeper into his clothing.

"It will for me." His words were soft and true, and as the strange kaleidoscope of color that made up Ayleth's eyes focused on him, she believed them.

That admission stalled the wood elf cold and she drew away, though a little slower than she had advanced.

"Oh…" She looked uncomfortable now. Her lips were moist, her cheeks flushed with color and the feathers she wore dangling from her circlet had slid over her small shoulders to combine with the wild strands of her dark hair.

She was beautiful. Her long ears pointed out from her lush hair. Her eyes were large and otherworldly and the candlelight cast delicate shadows across her shimmering, copper-kissed skin.

"Ayleth-" He started to explain but she cut through his words with her own.

"Ruthfin...I'm not very good at…" she sighed. "I've never really been…" The wood elf gazed around the room, looking anywhere but directly at the other druid. "I like you...very much...and I didn't expect to, I don't usually expect to like anyone...and I...well, I don't want to cause you any pain if I can help it, so, perhaps it's best if we…" She huffed out a breath, hands collapsing between her legs as she sank back on her heels. She shook her head and the little beads and feathers in her hair made a kind of music in the gentle movement. "I'm no good with meaning something ...and I don't want you to think-"

"Ayleth." His hand reached out to push a feather back behind her ear. The soft touch brought the elfs eyes into focus and he held her gaze with a thumb tipping her chin. "I said that it would mean something to me . Not that I did not want to."

Ayleth's brow furled for a moment as she considered his words. For an instant she thought on what the consequences might be and almost let them sway her, but then he inclined her chin and leaned over her with his impressive height to kiss her softly against her still parted lips.

It was far gentler than she had been and beneath the wine he tasted of goodberries and sage. She savored the taste of him for a few soft connections of their lips, lingering with little flicks of her tongue, until she felt his hand slip around to the nape of her neck where she tied up her blouse. His fingers were almost as skilled with knots as her own and after a few blind pulls, she felt the fabric covering her breasts slip down between them, held on only by the buckled leather waist cinch.

He drew back then, perhaps to marvel at what he had uncovered. There was a pause while he drank in the supple curves of her breasts. The backs of his fingers tracing idle lines down from her collarbone and over the tight peaks of her nipples.

Ayleth sucked in a breath between her teeth. She was not good with patience either, be it foreplay or otherwise. Ironic for an elf.

She rocked towards him on her knees, momentum carrying her into his arms and forcing him back onto his heels. She pressed him further until he unfurled his legs into a kind of sit and she claimed the newly offered space in his lap, straddling him. Her lips once again crushed against his. She held his bottom lip between her teeth as she fumbled beneath his tunic for the stubborn laces she'd abandoned only a few minutes before. He didn't deter her this time but echoed her movements with his own strong and nimble digits. One hand firmly kneading the soft mound of her breast while the other ventured beneath the eccentric layers of her skirts. Though most of the fabric hung well above her knees, Ruthfin wasn't entirely sure if it was a legging she wore or simply a pair of long stockings. When the druid found the tops of the high socks a smile curled against Ayleth's ravenous mouth.

His fingers caressed bare skin for a moment and drew higher still until he came into contact with an interesting triangle of clothing. He wasn't sure he'd ever been with a druid woman who had small clothes before. It was a fashion more reserved for nobility and ladies of wealth, at least, that was how he understood it.

Ayleth felt his fingertips brush against her and she hissed a frustrated growl against his mouth as her fingers pulled the last of the laces apart. She could feel him, hard and waiting beneath the soft leather and she took him easily in her hands as the last of the obstacles fell away.

Ruthfin's breath caught in his throat at her expert grip and for a moment he froze as she unsheathed him from the leather pants and drew him out in a motion that made it difficult to think. She shifted him into one hand and glided that hand over the smooth surface of his length while her other hand slipped beneath her own skirts. Ruthfin's hesitation lasted only a few seconds, and as he felt her hand push his fingers away while moving the delicate triangle of fabric aside, he had little time to react before she guided herself down onto him.

A groan unfurled from deep in his chest as she took him in inch by blissful inch. Her body was hot and slick but tight in a way that gave him momentary pause. Ayleth, however, held no such reservations, and rolled her hips in circular motions until she slowly sank down onto the fullness of him. She cried out in a long, aching moan of pleasure as he filled her fully and went deeper still. She released her grip as she sat flush against him and wrapped both hands into the long, crimson mane of his hair. The wood elf kissed him slowly, deliberately, as her hips began to rock.

At first, she was careful. She slowly rose up from the length of him, using her knees to leverage and slide her body over his thickness, before rolling back down to hold their bodies flush together. The movements were controlled and savored. Each time her body cascaded over his it drew long, breathless sounds from them both. Each tentative stroke was agony and ecstasy combined. Ruthfin's hands found a hold against the swell of her hips, but he didn't so much direct her movements as hold on for the ride.

With each rise and fall, the elf grew a little bolder in her motions and faster in her rhythm. She heard the other Druid's breath quickening as her pace sped and there she found the perfect combination of speed and pressure as she half rocked, half bounced her lithe body in his lap.

"Ayleth…" Her name came out at the end of a moan. Then again as a soft warning when she felt him spasm beneath her. She ignored his caution and increased her speed just that much more, feeling his fingertips dig into the soft flesh of her hips. Now his hands were almost helping her to collide with his body and she felt a slight change in pressure a split second before he cried out, thrusting his own hips from beneath her in eager greeting. He leaned forward suddenly, lips crashing against hers as he pushed hard inside her, one hand sliding up her back to bring her closer while the hand remaining on her hip held her down against him. She felt him spasm and shudder inside her as he fed from her mouth with breathless groans of sated delight.

She kissed him softly as she continued to gently roll her hips in small circular motions, feeling the last of his orgasm ebbing inside of her. A fine sheen of sweat had started to form across his brow as he rested his forehead against hers and tried to relearn how to breathe. Ayleth left tiny kisses across his breathless mouth, and then his nose, before leaning back just enough to gaze into his bright, golden eyes.

He swallowed hard and chuckled a little sheepishly. "I don't usually…that is I'm not…" He was still fighting to draw a deep enough breath for even speech and Ayleth grinned at his endearing defense of his masculinity.

The wood elf planted her feet then and stood up slowly, enjoying the delicious sensation of him sliding from her body once more. He made a half-breathed hiss as she absently stroked him one last time with her retreat. Then the half-elf was staring up at the wild elven woman before him. Ayleth was unfastening the buckles of the thick leather cinching her waist, allowing it to fall to the floor with an audible thud. Her bodice slipped even further down her torso without the leather to hold it up and she stood, exposed to her navel, with the eclectic sashes and skirts hanging around her hips.

"Don't apologize." She cooed, pulling at the knotted sashes that framed her small waist and over the swell of her hips. They fell one by one, some anchoring small pouches of herbs or coin or other strange items she kept tethered there. "I find that most men perform best the second time around."

Ruthfin felt his breathing slowly return to normal as he watched her undress before him. Each movement she made was a calculated touch. She was drawing his eye to each article being removed, baiting him to watch as she unveiled one inch of her body at a time. She stepped out of the delicate triangle of fabric next, but did not remove her skirts right away. Ruthfin grinned. He knew this game. This sort of tease was familiar, in a way. Druids were, more often than not, very comfortable around nudity. It was the most natural of forms and there was nothing to be ashamed of. Still, like many animals, there was a kind of value in the mating ritual of showing off ones colors, so-to-speak.

The red-headed man tugged at his boots, pulling them free and setting them off to the side before standing himself. His pants still held fast to his thighs, even with the laces undone, though, he did not remove them just yet. Next came the wide leather belt, similarly adorned with a dagger hilt and that of a few small pouches. He unclasped his dark green gambeson next, opening the thick padded armor like a long vest that he shrugged his arms free of. The tunic came off after. An easy pull over his head.

Ayleth had made it to the bracer on her left arm. She was meticulously unlacing the reinforced leather, but her eyes had taken notice of the half-elf undressing himself. He now stood with his upper body bare aside from a leather bracer on each arm. The muscles of his torso were honed to a hard edge. Shoulders built for climbing, arms coiled for swimming, trunk tight enough to withstand a direct blow if need be. Ruthfin's muscles were toned and his body lean from living in the wilds his entire life. Ayleth caught the occasional shimmer of a long healed scar here and there at various places across his skin. Part of her wanted to know where he had gotten each one...a part of her that quickly hushed her absent wonderings.

She was watching him now, actively, and the half-elf smiled as he mirrored her removal of the left bracer. When the laces were loose enough he slid it to the floor and moved to the second one. Ayleth didn't wear a full bracer on her right arm. No, it was more of a wide bracelet made of hide and bone and petrified vines. She did not remove that article, nor did she take the cuff from her bicep on the same limb. Instead she lifted one shapely leg to rest on the edge of the bed and began unfastening the interesting greeves that covered her shin and calves and even part of her feet. When she'd finished, she was left with the skin-tight material that Ruthfin had only discovered did not cover her entire leg only a few minutes before.

"You have me at a disadvantage," she mused. "You've only one thing left to remove."

Ruthfin grinned. "Is it a contest then?"

"You've sort of made it one now, haven't you?" She let the corner of her mouth edge just a little upwards as she began untying the strip of fabric that connected the stirrup half-leggings to her skirts.

"Oh, but I believe this little test of wills has been going on since the night we first met."

Ayleth's strange kind of hazel eyes looked up from her deft work to focus on the other druid as he voiced a bold statement of his own. She'd finished untying, but hadn't managed to roll the material down from her thighs yet.

"Has it?" She fired back.

The other Druid took that moment to peel the leather from his legs, drawing his feet free of the material and casting it aside. He stood bare before her and Ayleth felt her breath catch. She couldn't help it. His body left nothing to be desired and the confidence with which he wore his own skin was intoxicating.

He saw her looking and smiled, just like the first night. "Indeed. In the glade you watched me wild shape, but it was more than the shifting of form that you took notice of. I could smell your desire like some fragrant new flower in the dark."

Ayleth hid the rising heat in her cheeks by casting her eyes to the floor and guiding the covers of her legs down and off each foot. He had turned into a predator that night. She knew from her own experience that a beasts senses were far keener...and he wasn't wrong.

"Is that so?" She was biting her lip, trying to swallow the knowing smirk plastering itself to her face. So, he'd caught her staring then? It had been purely physical attraction that night, and that hadn't changed in a week, but she'd come to know him more and now it wasn't simply a primal urge. A primal urge could be calmed, restrained and buried. This was something she wanted, badly enough to act on.

"If you're so certain of that, then why didn't you act on it in the glade?" She countered, rising back to her full height.

He'd moved closer and his hand had shifted while she'd busied herself with her stockings. It had found its way into the nook of his hip and settled against the line of muscle that trailed off into a soft patch of crimson hair. He was holding himself firmly in on hand, stroking the silken flesh in slow, sure movements.

Ayleth's mouth went dry.

"You'd have only to have asked." He whispered.

Ayleth licked her lips and pulled on the knot that held her skirts in place. In a flourish, the various colors and textures fell in a pool at her feet. She never took her eyes off the creature before her. She watched him as he grew hard in his own hand and she felt her breath come in a rush as her fingertips absently brushed over her own breast, gently pinching an already taut nipple between thumb and forefinger. He took another step closer. She could have reached out and touched him.

"And now?" She asked thickly, her skin beginning to warm from the sheer anticipation.

He claimed the last step separating him from the circle of her clothing where it lay in disarray at her feet. He towered over her, but somehow didn't feel imposing. He was simply present, like a familiar tree. A tree made of hard muscle and fiery hair.

"That hasn't changed." His voice was rougher, restrained, as if he too were fighting the knot of desire curled in his belly.

Ayleth lowered her arms and exhaled a breath of relinquished advantage. "Then take me , Ruthfin."

She barely got the words out before his arms scooped her up from underneath. He easily lifted her small frame into his arms, cupping the curve of her ass as she instinctively wrapped her legs around him. Her hands fisted into the wild strands of his hair at the base of his neck and she drew their mouths together in hungry greeting. Then she felt him nuzzle her opening, still slick from before, as if testing the positioning. When he was sure of himself, Ruthfin lowered her onto his hard length and Ayleth cried out a wordless sound, her mouth frozen in an O against his as the sensation filled her to the brim. He thrust inside her and she cried out for him again. The feeling of being held, weightless, and having him at the reins was both foreign and exquisite. He set the pace, he kept her aloft, he was in control and there was a part of her that relished in giving herself over to him.

From this position, there wasn't much the wood elf could do, and there was a part of her that enjoyed that freedom. She was accustomed to being in control in all aspects of her life and rarely ever gave herself over to another's whims. Still, there was something incredibly liberating about allowing someone else to lead. To let someone else choose and to have those choices be glorious.

Ayleth couldn't stop herself from making small wanton sounds with each bounce. The angle was deeper, sharper and faster than it had been sitting on the floor. If Ruthfin was getting tired, it never showed. He never slowed, she never slipped from his grip, and he even managed to cross the room with her still curling up and down over the front of his body.

She felt the cool press of wood against her back as they came to the closest bare wall. Ruthfin leaned into her, using the wall as leverage so he could keep her braced against it while his hands guided her legs up and over the crook of his elbows. He kissed her roughly as he adjusted their position and drew out to the very edge of her before sliding back inside with the first strong thrust. Her scream of pleasure was muffled by his kiss but as he found his rhythm, Ayleth tore her mouth away in a breathless gasp. Ruthfin's lips kissed the line of her jaw and down into the slender column of her throat. She felt his breath, hot and labored against her skin, and her hands instinctively found themselves tangled in his long red hair.

A familiar pressure began to build in the very core of the wood elf and she groaned into the darkness, finding a way to roll her hips into each of his thrusts. When his rhythm began to grow erratic and the sweat beginning to shimmer against their skin made it difficult to keep their current position, Ruthfin stood up from the incline of the wall and turned around in the room.

There wasn't much in the way of furniture, but he made for the small writing desk across from the bed. In a hurried brush of his hand, he cast the chair holding their cloaks to the side. Instinctively, Ayleth reached back, her hands scattering the little bit of parchment and anything else that had been on the desk as she braced for this new position. Ruthfin grinned and Ayleth found herself echoing it without thinking.

He let one of her legs hang over the edge of the desk and lifted the other so that her heel hooked over his shoulder. He kissed her ankle and caressed the smooth line of her calf down to her thigh while his free hand traced the slope of her abdomen where it inclined between her legs. Her body was smooth save for a delicate triangle of soft, downy hair, the color of which was paler than what cascaded down from her head. His fingertips lingered in the short strands for a moment as he marveled at the baby-fine texture. Ayleth could only watch as his fingers traced gentle lines over the folds of her center and she found herself holding her breath as he explored her.

It was his thumb that found the most sensitive area of her body and she instantly moaned her satisfaction at his discovery. He pulled her to the very edge of the table with the hand wrapped around her raised leg and she felt him enter her once more. The angle was sharp and filling and she cried out as he sheathed himself deeply. His thumb rubbed slow, sure circles over her and he echoed that rhythm with his strokes.

That familiar pressure that had started building before intensified ten fold as he drove his body into hers, using his thumb to stimulate her in ways she'd normally only been able to work herself.

Now it was her turn to breathe his name in careful warning as she felt herself filling like a cup, closer and closer to spilling over the edge. He took her caution seriously and shifted his angle ever so slightly to more his own liking, while he applied slightly more pressure with his thumb.

Her orgasm hit them both suddenly and she screamed wordlessly as every muscle contracted. Her hanging leg hooked behind his knee, her hand gripped the arm that controlled his thumb and her nails sank in as she held on to keep from drowning beneath the waves of bliss that threatened to smothered her. His pace quickened as she clenched around him, almost forcing him out, but he buried himself inside with a final hard crash of their bodies and bit into the soft flesh of her calf so he could muffle his own cry of pleasure.

They lay there for a moment simply relearning how to breathe. Ayleth could feel the weight of the other druid leaning into her, using the desk and the crook of her thigh for balance. Her legs had turned to jelly, one hanging limply over the side of the desk while the other was supported only by Ruthfin's shoulder. The little cord of hemp and beads tethered around her small ankle jingled a little as the red-head slowly lowered her raised leg and leaned over her to place another kiss across her panting mouth. She kissed him back and grinned, feeling exhausted in the best possible way now.

After a moment or two, Ruthfin moved back enough to allow her to climb off of the desk. She did so, slowly, testing her footing on solid ground before taking a weak step forward. The wood elf made her way to the bed, but rather than climb into it, she pulled nearly all of its dressings from it and laid them on the rug covering the floor. Ruthfin's golden eyes watched her as she created a pallet large enough for two just in front of the balcony doors. It was about that moment that he realized that the mess of their clothes had been gathered into neat little piles just under the bed, as if they'd been swept under. The half-elf looked around the room for the enchanted broom and found him propped up in a corner as if he were an ordinary sort of broom. He smiled, musing to himself. The broom truly had a mind of its own. A strange, unique sort of creature. Ayleth did seem to keep interesting company.

"Grab the cloaks, will you?" She suddenly called, folding herself down onto the layers of quilts covering the wood floor.

Ruthfin obliged and joined her.

At first, they lay sharing the single flat pillow, with a column of space separating their still-naked bodies. A faint smile played across both their faces, but it was Ayleth who broke the silence first.

"It occurs to me," she said softly. "That I actually know very little about you."

Ruthfin's smile warmed and he made a little amused sound in his throat. "And that occured to you...just now?"

She grinned and shrugged as much as she was able while lying on her side. "Just now."

"Well, what is it you wish to know?"

Ayleth shifted the arm that had been tucked beneath her and used it to prop up her head, bending her elbow to rest on the pillow. "Your favorite color?"

Again that almost boyish smile curled beneath the soft pelt of his beard. "Blue." He answered simply. "And yours?"

"Violet, if you must know, but these are not questions meant for me." Ayleth retorted, not having expected he'd want to know more about her.

"Oh? Am I not allowed to ask of you what you ask of me?" Now he was propped up on his elbow, his red mane cascading down in a curtain that kissed the pillow.

Ayleth opened her mouth to speak but then closed it. "Fair enough, but I get to ask the questions." At least then she could control what sorts of things she had to answer in return.

Ruthfin gave a soft incline of his head. His eyes blinking open and closed in a lazy, almost sleepy motion.

"Favorite food?" She asked.

"Pork."

"Pork?" Her nose scrunched up in confusion. "Like, a pig?"

"Or a boar if you like." He added calmly.

She thought about it for a moment. "But like, the whole thing? Not a specific bit? Not bacon or ham or something?"

Ruthfin chuckled. "No specific part. I have yet to find a cut that I'm not fond of."

Now her brow was furrowing.

"Clearly you were expecting a different response." He probed, still smiling softly.

"Well...yes, if I'm honest. I thought you'd say something like...fennel or porage or dewberries." Meat had actually been the farthest answer from her mind. Even after witnessing him enjoy the smoked meats she'd had brought to the room earlier.

"Sorry to disappoint you." He teased.

Ayleth shook her head. "I'm not disappointed, just surprised. Surprised is good."

"I'll bare that in mind." He adjusted his head slightly against his palm and inclined toward her. "And what about you? Do you favor fennel or porage or dewberries?"

She actually choked on her laugh, but recovered quickly. "Honey cake, actually."

His brows rose in a kind of genuine approval. "A sweet tooth, eh?"

The wood elf shrugged as much as she was able. "Perhaps, but I think it's more, fond memories than the actual sugar. My father would always make me little honey cakes for my birthday each year. I remember waking up to the smell and having this wonderful feeling come over me. Like it was going to be the best day, all from the scent of those little sweet cakes."

Ruthfin was smiling softly, enjoying her little glimpse into a life that seemed far away now. "I think that's the first I've heard you speak of your family."

Ayleth cleared her throat. "Yes, well, in any case, there you have it. Now, let see, what else. Oh, how about your favorite season?"

The speed with which she'd pressed on had not escaped the other druid. Evidently, her family was not a subject up for discussion. Which was alright with him. He'd never been the sort to press a matter past defined boundaries, and Ayleth had made her boundaries relatively clear from their very first meeting.

"I'm sure you'll think me a cliche druid for this one, but it's Spring." He answered. "When the birds return to the lakes and the crickets begin singing at twilight. The first scent of blossoms on the trees and that new warmth that comes in with the morning air."

Ayleth's lips twitched into an absent smile at his depiction of the season of things reborn. It was almost ironic that she should be so opposite. "I'm rather fond of Autumn, myself. All the colors in the leaves, the scent of a hearth burning somewhere and mulled cider not far off. That first chill on the breeze that makes you want to snuggle up beneath a thousand quilts. Its...cozy."

"Cozy." He echoed her, nodding.

"Yes, cozy." She scoffed, still smiling. She let a few quiet moments pass before thinking of a new question for him. "If you weren't a druid with the Circle, what do you suppose you'd be doing?"

"Uh…" His expression shifted into something more thoughtful as her inquiry caught him off guard. It wasn't something he'd ever really thought about, especially considering he'd been raised among druids and knew no other life outside of the circle. "I suppose...I've always been fond of working with my hands, making things, woodworking, that sort of thing. So, perhaps a carpenter or craftsman of some sort."

Ruthfin watched as her expression began to lean back toward surprise again. "I take it you had an alternative in mind?" He asked, curious now.

She was glad for the low light because a blush began to darken the soft curves of her cheeks. "Not really...maybe…" her eyes darted away from his and then back again. "I might have thought you'd answer with something closer to...say...a farmer?" She winced a little, preparing for the offense to be taken.

"A farmer? Definitely not." He shook his head and some of his ginger hair fell across his face. He ran his free hand through it and combed it back once more. "Not in my wildest dreams. The only green thumb I've ever possessed has been because of magic."

Ayleth's face warmed at his honesty. He was not the stereotype any more than she was. He was interesting and unique in ways she hadn't been prepared for. She was smiling when she suddenly asked him, "What do you dream of, Ruthfin?"

She watched him shrug as best he could being propped on one elbow. "What do any of us dream of?"

"I don't dream." She murmured and his brow furrowed softly in question. "I suppose it is the human part of you that allows you to dream, but elves cannot dream. We only relive our memories." Ayleth gave him the explanation without much thought. Few who were not wholly elven understood. She had grown used to being the outsider in the human dominated world.

"Oh, I did not realize," He started, but she interrupted his apology.

"It's alright. Few do." Ayleth reclined back onto the pillow, her arm growing tired from holding the weight of her head for so long. It left her under the canopy of Ruthfin's strong frame and downy soft hair. Close enough to watch the breath rise and fall from his chest and see his muscles move beneath his sun-kissed skin. "So, tell me, what is it you dream about? Great adventures? Great lovers?" She asked the last with a sultry lilt to her voice and smirked.

"A little of both, I suppose." His voice was a low timber above her. "Every dream is a little different. Some are strange and some familiar. Sometimes they are frightening. Sometimes they are…" he seemed to search for the right word. "...stimulating?"

"Stimulating, eh? Tell me about her." Ayleth teased, giggling softly under her breath.

There was a masculine chuckle from the half-elf and another shift as he fussed with a wayward strand of hair. "Well, in my dreams she's wild, a predator in the forest, moving just out of sight. Sometimes I chase her as a great cat, other times she hunt's me."

"Have you ever caught her?" Ayleth asked, listening to the story, her eyes on the ceiling.

"No, she's always just out of reach. Always a little faster than me."

"Has she ever been able to capture you?"

"Yes." The response was softer than his previous. She could hear the direction of his voice shift toward her and she let her eyes wander to his face where it peered down at her through the darkness. "I think she had me the first time I ever saw her."

The elven druid felt her breath still as a little flutter of delight curled in her middle. She tried to control her face as she met his gaze. He could have meant anyone, she told herself, but there was a part of her that wanted…

"Well, that's lucky for you then. For me, if I wish to recall a particularly stimulating memory," she reached up and touched his face, enjoying the soft texture of his beard before slipping her hand behind his neck. She drew herself up and pulled him down to meet her as she breathed against his lips. "I have to make it first."

His mouth was warm and welcoming and his body enveloped hers as she curled against him. She found him ready despite the lightening of the sky just outside the balcony. If he'd longed for sleep, he didn't let it show, and she made sure it was a memory she would savor in the long, cold nights to come.

Only when dawn broke across the sky and her body was exhausted from battle and Ruthfin alike, did she allow herself to close her eyes. Her dark hair fanned out across his chest as she listened to the even breaths of his deep slumber. A single finger curled a lock of his bright cinnamon hair, gently, around and around, in a single soothing motion that lulled her into her Trance. As she faded into a state of semi-consciousness, she recalled what he'd said to her earlier when she'd told him it didn't have to mean anything.

"It will for me."

Ayleth felt herself smile ever so slightly as she thought of the half-elf beneath her and knew that maybe...just maybe...it meant something for her too.


	2. Forest Heart

_**(After weeks away searching for the first artifact that might help her and her party defeat the Lich, Valindra Shadowmantle, Ayleth returns with her companions to their new tower and base of operations near Cragholm and Neverwinter Wood. Once back, Ayleth receives a message from Ruthfin to meet him in the Forest's Heart.)**_

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_Huntress of my Heart…_

Ayleth ran her finger over the soft lines of dried ink, tracing each letter written in near-perfect Elven script. A soft smile played with the corners of her mouth as she tucked the small piece of parchment into a pouch at her side and reached for her enchanted broom.

Ruthfin's summons had filled her with a kind of dread she hadn't been prepared for. The idea that, now, after all this time, her past had come calling, made her insides knot. Though, despite that, she couldn't seem to get the giddy smile off of her face and the little thrill of seeing her mentor and lover once more seemed to squash any concern she should have felt for anything else.

The air was warm against her cheeks as it whipped her hair and skirts behind her on the broom. She flew just over the treetops covering twice the ground she could at a full run and the broom didn't need to rest or catch its breath. It could fly at full speed for as long as she needed it to and never tire.

She wasn't completely certain of how to reach this _Forest's Heart _. She had only ever met Ruthfin at the Druid circle, so her eyes scanned the canopy for anything that might have hinted toward a village or encampment. What she came upon after traveling the better part of the day however, was far and away from anything she had expected.

Houses hidden amongst the dense foliage, suspended by massive branches. Candlelight dotting the windows and smoke pluming from a barely visible fire burning at the center of a small clearing. She directed the broom lower to get a better look and could just make out a familiar dwarven visage manning a large cauldron hanging over the central fire. His long and questionably hygienic beard hanging dangerously close to whatever was brewing in the deep iron bowl.

Ayleth circled once and then lowered herself down to the ground, her bare feet touching the soft earth of the central clearing. The dwarf looked up as she landed and squinted his eyes at her a moment before his old face lit up.

"Ayleth!" He cackled!

"Hello again…" she smiled, stalling to remember his name. She had only ever met him once, but his beard made him unforgettable. "Flint?" She couldn't quite keep the question from her voice.

The dwarf nodded and sniffed the stew, stirring it with a large ladle. Ayleth winced a little. His beard was just a little too close to the soup for her liking.

"How have you been?" He asked, not looking up from his cooking.

"Well enough." She glanced around for any familiar red hair. There were a few people moving through the clearing, off to various other parts of the village. Some she recognized as other members of the Circle, but some were women with laundry or children playing. Ayleth noticed too, that all sorts were gathered here. Elves, humans, dwarves, halflings, gnomes, though it did seem that elves were most common. Interesting.

"Good, good." Flint nodded over his soup. Ayleth thought she saw something fall from his long whiskers into the pot.

"Um, I received a message from Ruthfin to meet him here?" She asked with a lilt of questioning. Her eyes continued to scan the faces of those wandering for a shock of crimson hair.

"Oh, well he's over tending the deer herd. Over that way." Flint motioned with one thick finger and Ayleth's head turned to the direction he'd indicated.

"Thank you, Flint." She was moving away before she'd even finished saying his name.

He'd simply pointed in a direction. There was nothing to clearly indicate where she should go aside from that. There were no signs, no roads, no maps. She simply walked where she'd been directed and looked for the fall of red hair.

As she moved through the village, she marveled at the ingenuity all around her. The various pulleys and bridges that connected the treehouses, the steps sometimes carved directly into the massive trees, the sheer craftsmanship of the homes. These weren't shanties. These were well made, sturdy homes, and the forest was alive around them.

After a few moments of brisk walking, Ayleth noticed a line of fence stretching around an area of tall grass. Dotted amongst the high foliage were deer with deep brown coats spotted with small white dots. Ayleth saw several multi-point bucks, their antlers stretching far above their narrow faces, but most were smaller females and the occasional wobbling fawn. Many were simply grazing or relaxing in the tall grass, all seemed calm and content with their surroundings and none took more than a curious glance at the approaching wild elf.

The long, pointed ears of the elf twitched at a strange sound coming from the herd. A sort of scratching; rhythmic and sure. None of the deer seemed to mind the sound or even pay any attention to its intrusion, which Ayleth thought a bit strange for the usually skittish animal.

Ayleth moved up to the very edge of the fencing. The sound was a little easier to pinpoint to a single doe standing with one leg back while she calmly chewed on some of the grass. Ayleth narrowed her eyes, truly confused now, when the scratching suddenly stopped and she saw the first bright streak of rust colored hair cut through the soft, swaying grass.

Something in her chest tightened then. Her breath stopped altogether. Her stomach flipped and knotted as she bit down on her bottom lip to keep the smile from beaming across her face. Ruthfin was on his knees in the high grass, a stiff brush in his hand, the doe's leg in the other, and he seemed to be cleaning a dark sort of ash from the animal. He hadn't seen her, or at least, he hadn't given Ayleth any indication that he'd noticed her presence there. For a moment, she felt a little stab of panic. What if he had seen her, but paid her no mind? What if he didn't feel the same little thrill at the sight of her? What if in the weeks gone by he'd found someone here in this village that suited him more? What if he knew who she was and was angry or had only brought her here to shun her away?

_Huntress of my Heart_

The elf swallowed her anxiety. No, no, that was not Ruthfin. He did not play games with people. He did not toy with emotion. He was not one to mince words, even as gentle as he was. Ayleth smiled. The half-elf simply hadn't taken notice to her yet.

"I saved your bird from a cat you know." She called out, leaning her torso a little against the wooden fence.

His shoulders straightened as he sat up from his work, a loose strand of his tied-back hair whipping into his face with the movement. Ayleth tried to keep her face even as he looked at her, but when his golden eyes lit up in a bright smile, she felt her insides warm and she reflexively beamed back at him.

"Oh, hello." He said warmly, his hands making quick work of finishing with the doe's leg and setting her free. "The same cat?" He added, brows scrunching in the afterthought.

"Yes, Samir, he's with me at the tower now." She watched him dust his pants off. He was dressed for field work, not fighting as he had been the last time she'd seen him. The pants were a chocolate brown and made of what looked to be a soft, simple linen. The tunic, a dark blue that set his hair on fire where it cascaded down between his shoulder blades, even with a ribbon of leather tying it back. The sleeves were rolled up his forearms and a short cotton vest of straw color hung open over it.

"I got your message." Ayleth added suddenly, trying not to look like she'd been staring.

"Were you home all this time?" He asked, patting some of the ash from the brush.

"Just got in actually. Well, maybe not just, but earlier today. It's been a long day already." She sighed, remembering the chaos that had greeted them almost upon arrival.

"Oh...well...I...do you remember the corruption that overtook the forest a few weeks ago?" He asked, suddenly all business again.

Ayleth nodded. "You mean with all the fires and the dragon in the ruins and that sort of thing?" She remembered the fear she'd felt racing through the forest to stop whatever it was that had set it ablaze with arcane fire. Part of her had wanted to run to the heart of the forest to make sure Ruthfin was alright, but the source of the evil had taken her to the opposite direction. In occurred to her then, that she hadn't even seen the other Druid in person since the night she'd spent with him in the Golden Finch. A memory that made her blush and rub her thighs together.

"Yes, that. We believe it may not be isolated to this forest alone. That it could have spread to other places. We're trying to get samples to study and well, if in your travels you should come upon anything resembling it that you might be able to bring back, we would appreciate it."

Ayleth was nodding before he'd even asked. "Yes, of course. Not a problem."

Ruthfin smiled softly, taking a few steps toward the gate and her. "Thank you." He stopped just short of the fence and his eyes took her in, drinking up every inch of her form, lest it be another month before he saw her again. "It's good to see you." He murmured and Ayleth sucked in a sharp breath, standing straight suddenly.

"You mentioned someone had come looking for me, in you message." The elven druid quickly shifted the subject away, while she could still think clearly.

The gentle smile that had been on the half-elfs face faded and he nodded. "Yes, a couple of days ago a gentleman came through our village asking about a young elven woman that...met your description in almost every way except they were looking for someone called Bryn."

At the mention of the name, Ayleth stilled.

"W-what did this gentleman look like?"

Ruthfin shrugged. "He was elven, tall for an elf. Hair was pale, platinum blond and kept up away from his face, the sides cut close. Blue eyes, dressed in fine clothes. Kept a long sword on his back and rode a black horse."

"Uh huh." Ayleth was near to entering a trance, filtering names and faces through her mind of anyone who could fit that description. She came away with nothing.

"Ayleth?" Ruthfin's voice was a gentle hum drawing her back into the moment. "Your past is your own, and you don't have to tell me anything you don't wish. We told him we knew no such person and sent him up the river to Thunderwood."

The dark-haired woman shrugged as if it didn't matter to her one way or the other. "Oh, well, good luck to him. I mean, clearly he was searching for someone else." She shrugged again, not meeting his gaze. She was shrugging too much.

"Of course, I just thought you should know." His eyes searched her face, patiently waiting for her to tell him anything she wished to part with. When she nervously met his gaze he offered her an understanding smile. "Is there anything you want to share with me?" He nudged one last time.

"No." She answered quickly and the half-elf nodded in acceptance. He wouldn't push her for anything further.

"Are you busy today? Did I pull you away from anything?" He asked, carefully shifting the subject.

"Oh, um, no. Like I said, we just returned and I think everyone else went off to run their own sort of errands today."

"Can you stay?" He asked and she felt her own words from a month ago echoed in his request.

Her nerves eased and she felt her smile widening into a grin. "I'd love to."

He unlatched the gate and moved to her side of the fence, motioning toward the main area of the village. "Then allow me to show you around."

Ayleth nodded and fell into step beside him. He led her around the perimeter of the village and she was surprised by how large it actually was and also how self sufficient. She learned that their numbers were somewhere just over 40 and were comprised of both the druids of the circle and their families, and those simple folk who simply wanted to lead a quiet existence here in the forest. Ayleth couldn't really argue with them, the place was like something out of a dream.

There was a creek that brought water to the village, small herds of animals clustered in little patches of clearing that served as meat and other goods, modest crops of wild bushes and root vegetables, and somewhere, from someone's house, Ayleth could have sworn she could hear music playing.

Everyone seemed to have a job or purpose in keeping the village running smoothly. She saw a few women tending to laundry, children racing through the dirt pathways laughing and playing, men coming in from the forest thicket with fish and rabbits hung over their shoulder.

"So your last message mentioned something about Luskan was it?" Ruthfin inquired. "Your tree friend conveyed the message as best he could I think."

Ayleth recalled the short message she'd sent Mr. Oaks with more than a week ago. "Oh, yes, Luskan," she almost groaned at the memory of it. "Remind me never to go back there."

"And Mirabar before that?" Ruthfin was smiling as she recounted her adventures.

Ayleth made a long, disgusted sound in her throat. "Remind me about not going back there _either _."

The half-elf almost chuckled. "Was it all so very bad?"

Ayleth gave him a look that spoke volumes. "Let me tell you…" and she did. The events of the last few weeks unfolding in graphic detail. The feuding houses and mushroom farms of Mirabar, the near death experiences of the underdark, the long, cold trip down the mountain, their dealings with a Beholder, traveling to Luskan and its somber sort of mood, Brutah's induction into a cult, their alliance with the Crimson Lances and the Vorpal blade, and just the day before, their victorious battle against the Beholder and retrieval of their first artifact in the Eye of the Raven Queen.

"You've kept rather busy these past weeks." Ruthfin mused and the dark-haired elf narrowed her eyes at him.

"Does this all amuse you somehow?"

"Not at all." But he was smiling even wider now.

"This was all very harrowing, you know." Ayleth protested, but her lips cracked into a smirk and she shouldered him in the arm as they walked. "I nearly died a few times."

"And yet here you stand beside me, resilient as ever, stronger than before and ready for the next adventure." He teased, shouldering her back a little, but there was a warmth in his eyes that said he was proud of her.

Ayleth rolled her eyes, but couldn't stop from smiling. His positive outlook be damned.

"Something about what I saw in the Eye has been troubling me though." She had thought about saying nothing, but it needled her in the back of her mind. His name had been Rue, hair a shock of ginger, and he was a half-elven Druid. Coincidence? Ayleth wasn't sure she believed in coincidence.

"About the Druid you inhabited in your vision?" He asked, almost guessing where she was heading.

"Yes, I mean...it did seem rather strange that his name should be so familiar and are there really _that _many redheaded half-humans in the world?" She looked up at him, serious now. "It was over a century ago though…"

Ruthfin shrugged, seemingly unmoved at the idea that this Rue had any connection to him. "Could be a relative or even a parent. I don't really know. We really have no way of knowing for sure."

"But aren't you curious?" She pressed.

"Certainly, but what difference does it make now? The people who made me gave me away, Ayleth. My Mother and Father were the Druid's that raised me here and they have long since passed to the other planes."

"Oh...well...I just thought it worth mentioning." She gave a weak shrug of her shoulders, not sure if she'd offended him.

Ruthfin smiled and gave her another soft bump against the shoulder. "I appreciate it and it was worth mentioning, thank you."

They continued their slow pace through the village. Houses dotted the surrounding trees, literally built into and against the large wooden pillars. Some were held by massive branches that seemingly bent to accommodate the quaint homes and others almost _grew _out of the trees themselves.

"You know, I'm no carpenter and I'm no farmer, but I'm fairly sure, trees do not grow at these sorts of angles." She stopped, pointing to a few of the massive trees whose branches supported the little cottages. "It's almost as if magic were used to coax those branches into such straight angles.

Ruthfin licked his lips and leaned in to whisper into her ear, "Well, we _are _a village of Druids."

His voice was a low vibration against her hair. It tickled the space of her neck just below her earlobe and she had to stifle a shudder against the sensation.

"Which one is yours?" She breathed and her eyes widened as he pointed to one that he claimed as his own. It was beautiful and a little bigger than some of the others, with a wide open set of double doors on the landing and lattice shutters opened on either side of each large window.

Ayleth grinned, a childish kind of delight racing from her toes to the tips of her ears as she stared in wonder. "Race you inside?" She said and without warning or a reply from the other Druid, her form began to meld and shift into that of a tiny, brightly colored hummingbird. Her wings flapped faster than the eye could follow and in a streak of pink and purple she was up and into the treehouse.

Ruthfin hesitated for only an instant, taken a little by her new form since the last time he'd seen her, she'd only been able to manage land animals with her wildshape. Then, the more experienced Druid took a similar form and followed her into the house.

When he dropped his wildshape, he found her in the main sitting room of his home. Her large, hazel gray eyes were wide with wonder as she scanned the room. Her fingertips tracing gentle lines along the furniture and walls.

"This is incredible." She marveled. "It's as if the house was built into the very trees themselves. Honestly, I can't quite tell what parts are man made now that I'm inside." She was running her hand over a wall that, if Ruthfin was honest, was actually mostly the side of one of the massive trees that held their little forest village.

The half-elf watched her as she went over each room. A soft breeze cycling through the open floor plan, catching the gossamer curtains that framed the balcony and windows. She left her touch on every table and book, every frame of a door or window, every texture that she could take in. She moved from the main sitting room into the bedroom where a four poster bed was the centerpiece. Ruthfin came just inside the doorframe, leaning against it with his arms crossed, a soft smile touching his handsome face. Ayleth ran her fingers over the linens, lingering on the thin quilt draped horizontally at the very foot of the bed. The nights were growing warmer and blankets were less and less of a necessity. She stared for a long time at the thick, carved posts of the bed frame and suddenly her brow furrowed in thought.

"Did you...did you make these?" She asked, delicate fingertips touching the intricate carvings of lions around the posts.

Ruthfin smiled and nodded slowly. "I made most of this." He motioned with one arm generally around the house. "I did say I was good with my hands."

The elf's eyes went wide again. "Ruthfin, this is beautiful! This house...the furniture...it's amazing! Truly, this is incredible!"

"Thank you, I appreciate that."

"No, seriously. I say that as someone who literally is shit at making anything without magical intervention. This is a kind of magic in itself." Her fingers finished tracing the smooth edges of one lion's form and she looked at him with a smile he'd never seen before.

The redhead shifted, gazing at her like the rest of the room had fallen away and all he could see was the beautiful creature in its center. Ayleth blinked at him and tilted her head a little to the side, curiously.

"What is it?" She asked.

Ruthfin shook his head. "Just you...here, in my home…"

Ayleth made a face. "What about me?"

"Everything." He murmured, arms falling softly to his sides as she stood from the bed. She stared at him and he watched her bite her bottom lip and take a step toward him. He reflexively moved a step forward in counter. He could almost see the held breath in her chest and his felt tight as his muscles coiled, waiting for her to make the first move.

But then, she was in his arms, the weight of her body crashing against him as she drew herself up to his waiting lips and they kissed like they might never get another chance. The force of her near running start pushing him the few steps back into the wall. His back took the brunt of it and she used the leverage to pull herself up to his height, meeting his mouth with the same hungry kisses he fed her. She made a small, demanding sort of sound in the back of her throat as one hand snaked down the front of his pants and stole the breath from his lungs.

She pulled at the ties that held the linen in place and before she could completely remove them, Ruthfin wrapped one strong arm around her waist and flipped their position so that _her _back was now to the wall. He drew his hips away and out of reach of her greedy fingers while holding her pinned to the oaken walls. One hand wrapped halfway around her waist while the other curled to the back of her neck. He knew the ties of her blouse were there and without needing to see how the knot was looped, he pulled with deft fingers and set the fabric free.

His mouth found the bare column of her throat and he kissed and bit along the long smooth line down to her collar bone. His tongue traced the edges of the tattooed leaf blossoms she had drifting toward her shoulder and his teeth bit into the soft curve at the top of her arm. Ayleth cried out and arched her back toward him, heaving her breasts higher like an offering. Ruthfin let go of her hip to use both hands to unfasten her armor-like waist cinch. The buckles jingled as each was pulled open and the thick leather finally clattered to the floor, releasing the remaining material that covered her torso.

He leaned back into her, keeping her back against the wall while his hips drew close enough for her hands to grasp at him once more. He let her take him into her firm grip, his body already hard with anticipation. She loosened the last of the ties and the linen pants slipped easily down his thighs exposing the taut, nude flesh beneath.

Ruthfin kissed her lips once more and she groaned into his mouth, parting her legs in eager wait. The half-elf kneaded one perfectly tear dropped breast in one hand, rolling the point of her nipple between his thumb and forefinger, while his other hand slipped beneath her skirts and found the little triangle of fabric between her legs. He didn't bother to pull them down, didn't try to unfasten the belt that held the skirts on. He released her tender breast and reached down to take the length of himself in his hand. With his arm and hips he pinned the fabric of her skirts up between their bodies and with the other hand drew the delicate fabric aside and pressed himself between her thighs.

She was wet and hot and her body ready for his. He took one stroke to simply feel the folds of her slicken against him before he angled up and pushed his way inside.

What started as a breathy gasp eased into an audible full moan as Ruthfin drew their bodies together slowly, making sure he had the angle right with their difference in heights. She started to hike one shapely leg up, but he touched her hip and kept both her feet planted on the ground as he drew out and guided himself in once more. In this way, the depth was shallow, but he knew he could touch parts of her like this that wouldn't have been included if he moved her.

Ayleth wrapped her arms around his neck, eyes open as she watched his face, her mouth agape as he pushed inside her again and again while keeping them standing. With each stroke the pace grew more quickened and sure and with each long stride he glided over the tenderest places before plunging deeper.

The wood elf was making breathless, mewling noises as he held her pinned between the hardness of his body and the immovable wall, working her over and over as he gripped the curve of her ass and directed her hips to collide with him. His mouth tasted hers, nibbled at her lip and jaw, licked the slowly beading sweat from her neck as he fucked her. She let him guide her body, her nails beginning to dig into the muscle between his neck and shoulder blades, and as his speed grew faster, the friction between her legs spread out like electricity. She was caught off guard by the sudden sensation of the orgasm overtaking her.

Ayleth cried out and her nails sunk into whatever flesh she could grab. Ruthfin didn't slow his rhythm and she felt her legs turn to jelly beneath her. She started to sink, but his hands were there to scoop her up from underneath, drawing her up onto him, her legs instinctively wrapping around him as she rode the ebbing waves of her orgasm.

Her back came briefly away from the wall as the other Druid adjusted how he was holding her, but he walked them back against the support, the angle now deeper, even as he kept her close to his body. With her upper body effectively pinned once more, his lower half rocked into her with renewed vigor.

The wood elf breathed his name. She screamed profane moans of overwhelming pleasure and wordless sounds she couldn't have recreated again if she wanted. Sweat began to slicken their bodies and cause what clothes remained on to stick to their forms. Her hair was clinging to the back of her neck and she pushed a wild strand of Ruthfin's from his eyes.

He made a warning sound low in his throat as he bit down against the curve of her neck where it met her shoulder. He drove into her with a force that could have bruised as he came undone inside her and Ayleth tightened her hold around him, keeping him buried deep until the shuddering sensation subsided.

He kissed her then, kissed his way back up to her mouth as he rocked slowly, still inside of her. She kissed him back, long slow languid movements of her tongue and teeth and lips, savoring each connection she made to his mouth. She smiled against his breathless lips and giggled, feeling him still there between her legs.

"It's good to see you too."

That earned her a wide, panting grin from the redhead, who stole another kiss in between breaths. He still held her aloft, her legs curled around him, hips very gently rolling against her. It was as if he could have held her like this all day and she was reminded at the impressive amount of stamina the half-human had possessed in their first encounter.

Ayleth bit her lower lip and closed her eyes against the sensation he was still evoking in her body. When she opened her eyes again she was reminded that the man holding her was still mostly clothed. Ayleth pulled the cotton vest from his shoulders and it hung at his elbows a moment before he alternated one hand beneath her and then another in order to let the garment fall to the floor.

"Oooh, progress." Ayleth teased him and started to tug at the tunic that was clinging to him. She braced her back against the wall more solidly and he used the strength of his hips to hold her against the wooden support before helping her peel the tunic over his head. He tossed the damp material to the side and then helped draw Ayleth's top from over her head as well, though her skirts, stockings and bracers remained.

With the slight distraction, the half-elf found his second wind and he kissed Ayleth deeply as what had only been a soft rolling of his hips before, became more distinct strokes. The wood elf sucked in a breath at the change, her mouth opening around his in a little O shape. He smiled against her open mouth and bit gently at her bottom lip. Her nails drew faint lines over his shoulders and down the top of his back as she tried to curl even more of her body around him. He could feel her breath against his ear and in a voice thick with desire she whispered, "I missed you."

"And I you." He echoed, drawing out to the very edge of her before sinking slowly back inside.

Ayleth whimpered deliciously against his skin but the sound was almost drowned out by the sudden ringing of a large bell. Ruthfin closed his eyes, nuzzling the side of her face as his voice rumbled against her ear. "Are you hungry."

The elf didn't miss a beat. Using her leverage she rolled her own hips over him, biting gently at his earlobe as she half growled, "Starving."

Ruthfin smiled and grit his teeth against her movements almost forgetting what he was about to say, but he managed to breathe out the words as a second toll of the bell clanged through the village. "For food, I mean. That's the dinner bell."

Ayleth stilled her hips and drew back enough to look him in the eyes. "Truly? You have a dinner bell?"

The half-elf nodded. "There are many of us and not everyone is as near to the center of the village. Some might be patrolling the perimeter or gathering wood or away hunting."

"What, like you all eat together?" Ayleth asked.

"Mmm, mostly. We're a pretty tight knit community here."

"So it would seem."

Ruthfin brushed some of the wayward strands of her hair from her face, staring into her strange, beautiful eyes. "Would you like to stay for dinner?"

Ayleth licked her lips. She hadn't eaten all day and the sudden discussion of food only seemed to punctuate that fact. Though, she would need to give up her current position and that was a tough call to make.

"Yes." She said, but rolled her hips over his length once more and he made a pleased sound in his throat that made the elven druid want to do it again just to hear that sound.

"Then we'll need to go down to get it...while it's still hot…" He advised her, shuffling back to the bed with her legs still wrapped firmly around him. He settled her bottom onto the soft mattress and she slowly unraveled herself from around him, making a little yip of sound as he slid completely free of her.

Ruthfin grabbed his pants where they had pooled around his boots and drew them back up onto his body, tying the draw string snugly over his hips in the quickly fading sunset. He walked over to a small wardrobe and withdrew another soft looking tunic, this time in a simple off white color. Ayleth slid off the bed as he dressed, padding over to him with bare feet as he pulled the tunic over his head. As he drew his hair out from beneath the shirt, slipping the long red tangles free of their binding, he was greeted by a pouting elven woman.

"Aww, you didn't need to put all that back on." She crossed her lean, well defined arms beneath her breasts and Ruthfin made no effort not to look at the full, supple shapes. "I just got it off of you."

The half-elf chuckled and leaned over to kiss her on the cheek, whispering against her ear. "I'll take it back off if you stay as you are."

Ayleth stifled a shiver as he stood back up to his full height. She glanced down at her exposed breasts, the waist of her skirts still damp where she had taken a quick, fully-clothed, dip into the cenote back home at her tower. She made a face as she thought it over. "Hmmm, no, I suppose you can keep the shirt." And she reached inside the wardrobe and grabbed another of the soft, long shirts for herself. "But I'll wear one too." She smiled smugly and unfastened the belt at her waist, letting the skirts fall to the floor. She had to sit back on the bed to get her greaves and stockings off, and Ruthfin was content to watch her undress as the dinner bell sounded once more.

Ayleth left her things in a small pile before unfolding the moss green fabric and pulling it over her head. It was big. Ruthfin was both taller and more muscled than she and the tunic made it painfully obvious. For a moment, she simply stood there, enjoying the softness of the material and the smell of the man who normally wore it. When she glanced over at Ruthfin, he raised one arched brow at her.

The elf was unphased and proceeded to rolling the sleeves up to be more manageable before crossing the room to gather her leather waist cinch and affixing it to her body. With the leather band accentuating her waist, it appeared as if she were wearing a strange, almost blousey summer dress. Ayleth smiled and spun around, showing off her creation to the other druid.

"You're beautiful." He murmured, breaking her away from her display. The wood elf almost stumbled, paused and sheepishly smoothed out her hair.

"Right, better get down to dinner then." She stammered and made her way toward the front terrace. She was fairly sure she had seen some kind of staircase before she'd flown inside. It was a narrow set of steps, built right into the side of the tree and it spiraled around the massive plant. Ruthfin walked behind her, as the steps would not allow for them to walk side by side, but once they were on the ground, he came to rest next to her.

Ayleth motioned forward and said, "Lead on."

In the time they had been away from the main circle of the village, tables, chairs and various other forms of seating had been brought out. At least half the community was already bustling around in the village center. Some were bringing large plates of food to tables while others were laying out blankets and wrangling children to sit down to eat.

Ayleth took a moment to simply take it all in, to look at all of the faces of the people who called this place home. Then she noticed a few faces fixated on hers. Mostly, other women. They were not curious stares either. No, these were distinctly unhappy looks. Disapproving looks.

The wood elf was no stranger to disgusted glances. She'd received them in the High Forest back home and had seen her fair share out among the humans, especially once she'd taken to the forests of Lurkwood and stopped caring about how clean her skirts or neat her hair looked.

"Am I not wanted here?" She asked Ruthfin, trying to keep the irritation out of her voice.

The redhead's eyes followed Ayleth's line of sight to the accusing stares and he gave a soft sort of chuckle. "Pay them no mind." He murmured, his hand touching the small of her back ever so gently. "See the woman there?" He inclined his head toward a woman perhaps in her early thirties. Her middle was swollen with child and her freckled face looked tired. She was struggling to corral four small children, the eldest of which could have been no more than ten. "That's Sarah Appleton. She and her family share a home very close to mine."

Ayleth watched the little humans rushing around their Mother as she narrowed her eyes back at the elven druid. The realization hit Ayleth then and she had to cover her laughter with her hands. She looked back to Ruthfin with wide, jovial eyes. "Oh no! Why didn't you quiet me?" Her voice was muffled into her palms.

The half-elf smiled, but his eyes were filled with a masculine kind of darkness. "Because I like the sounds you make for me."

Ayleth felt the heat spring into her cheeks so fast she could feel her skin grow hot against her fingertips and she dared not move her hands away from her face and show him just how much he affected her. Then one of the little human children broke away from his mother and rushed over to them in a mad dash.

"'Ello Miss! Is you alright now? Me Mum says you was makin' all them noises cause you was hurt?" He couldn't have been more than four years old and Ayleth breathed in deeply to calm herself before lowering her hands to the unexpected intruder.

"Oh...y-yes, much better now, thank you, child. Ruthfin here is a _very _good healer." She bit her bottom lip to keep from breaking into a grin.

The little boy nodded. "That's good! Bye!" And with that he scurried off back to his anxious Mother who Ayleth offered an understanding nod toward.

The lone Mother wasn't the only women who stared, though, and Ayleth knew they couldn't all have been disgruntled neighbors. She took note of at least two other women. One was human, and the other, a half-human. Both seemed to be old enough to be married or with children, but neither seemed burdened with either. The human was soft and feminine. Her hair was a dark, curling curtain that covered one bright green eye. Freckles littered her skin in a dusting so thick it made her shoulders seem a darker tan than the rest of her. The half-human was more slender and taller. Her hair was a fall of liquid honey and even at this distance Ayleth could tell she didn't possess the elven eyes of her parents. Though her face was full of all the high angles of her heritage, Ayleth guessed that her parents had both been half-human and as the generations went on, they lost more and more of what distinguished them from humans.

Neither gave friendly eyes toward Ayleth and the druid was fairly certain they had been past lovers of the redhead that walked beside her. "More neighbors?" She asked coyly.

"You know they're not." He said evenly above her.

"Should I be concerned? Will they start throwing rocks or tomatoes?" She'd meant it in jest, but she wasn't entirely convinced it wasn't a possibility.

"No, nothing like that."

"Have I come between something?" She hadn't thought to ask if Ruthfin had been laying with other women. She hadn't really considered it as an issue. They had never established that their relationship was anything that warranted a label or any form of exclusivity. Though, Ayleth had to admit, the idea of Ruthfin sleeping with other women, made her fists clench at her side.

"Nothing that hasn't been long over." Again she felt his fingertips brush against the small of her back. "One was a casual dalliance through the winter months and the other something that went on a little longer than that about a year or so back...but when I realized I was not going to be able to fulfill her wishes in any near or present future, I ended it as amiable as possible." They were nearing the tables with food now. "They both deserve their measure of happiness, it was simply not mine to give to them."

"You seem rather casual about the whole affair." Ayleth murmured, taking a scooped wooden plate into her hands as they came up to the banquet line.

Ruthfin tilted his head at her almost inquisitively as he took a plate for himself. "Does that bother you?"

Ayleth shrugged as she reached for a crust of bread. "Of course not. Your relationships are yours. You owe me nothing and I expect nothing." It was incredible just how much variety of food was laid out before them. The wood elf took a handful of wild strawberries and blackberries as well as a few roasted turnips onto her plate. "I just wasn't expecting all the cutting glances from your former lovers."

Ruthfin filled his plate alongside her. "Maricella and I were lovers over the colder months. It's not uncommon here, but that was all it was."

"Tell that to her." Ayleth snorted, pulling a wild turkey leg off of one of the various birds that had been roasted.

Ruthfin smiled. "She has a jealous heart, in all things. It is her nature, but she's harmless. In fact, it's my understanding that she's engaged to a woodsman from Thunderwood. And Larissa...she wanted a husband and children." Ruthfin went on.

"And you didn't?" Ayleth probed.

"Eventually...but Larissa didn't want to wait and so I did not try to keep her from those things she wanted in her life."

"How very selfless." Somehow, her voice sounded more bitter than she meant for it to. "Though I suppose the saying goes, if you love a thing, you must let it go?" She shrugged.

"Nothing flourishes in a cage." He added, and Ayleth suddenly wondered where she stood in his line of lovers past or present. Was she a Maricella or would she become like Larissa? The wild elf shook her head. It was a foolish thought either way. Life was meant to be lived...and all they were promised was the moment they were in. No point in lingering on what could be or could have been.

They found a comfortable spot beneath one of the sparse trees that dotted the clearing but wasn't quite large enough for a house. Ruthfin crossed his legs and settled his plate into his lap while Ayleth made an effort to keep from flashing half the village by sitting with her legs soft of off to the side.

"I'm sure I would receive my fair share of angry glances were I to visit _your _home. If our positions were reversed." Ruthfin said smiling as he folded a bit of meat in between a flaky crust of bread.

Ayleth had her mouth around the turkey leg but lifted it away to shake her head and argue. "Certainly not!" She bit off a large bit, chewing around it as she shook her head.

"No?"

"Not even close." She mumbled.

Ruthfin lifted one auburn brow. "I don't believe you." His voice was teasing, mouth smiling.

"Believe what you like, but aside from being half-human, there would be nothing else to warrant any sort of stares back home." She huffed, taking another impressive bite from the poultry.

"You're lying." He needled and picked up one of the roasted potatoes with his fingers.

Ayleth narrowed her eyes, but in the end, smiled. "I'm flattered you find it so hard to accept, but I was no prize among my people. Amongst the High Elves, I am not considered to be any sort of great beauty. I'm too short. My arms and legs are too strong. My hair is the wrong color and my eyes represent no great jewels or metals. I had no magic. I hated shoes, constantly tore my dresses and could not braid my own hair. I played with boys until the boys no longer wanted to play childish games and by then, they had come to like the subtle elegance that one expects to see in elven girls. Pale hair and eyes like stars and necks as long as their ears." Ayleth was chuckling to herself. "I have always liked not being what others expected. Though, I admit, there was a time that I longed for those features of the Ar'Tel'Quessir." Her common suddenly shifted to the lyrical syllables of Elvish as she referred to the Sun Elves she'd grown up around. She shrugged and chewed around her turkey. "Sorry to disappoint you."

Ruthfin was staring at her then, as if seeing something he hadn't noticed before, and his smile was soft and gentle as his eyes. "You've never disappointed."

Ayleth wiped the shine from the corners of her mouth and swallowed, hoping he couldn't see the blush that stained her cheeks.

"Hello!" A shrill, bell-like voice suddenly chimed.

Ayleth startled, almost dropping the food in her hands. Standing very close now, was a tiny halfling girl. She was so small, perhaps 18 inches at best. Her cheeks were freckled and rosy, her eyes like warm chocolate and her hair was a wavy thicket of sandy brown. She wore a simple yellow dress and a matching ribbon in her hair.

"Oh, hello child." Ayleth had met enough halflings to know that this one was far from adulthood.

The little girl beamed up at the elf. "You're very pretty!"

Ayleth felt her face contort in confusion, then soft amusement and finally into a kind of smile. "Thank you, that is very kind of you to say."

The little halfling looked around the elf's body at Ruthfin. "Isn't she pretty, Mr. Ruthfin?"

Ayleth let her gaze roll slowly up to the half-elf's. There was that look again. That look she was never prepared to deal with. That look that spoke words without him ever making a sound. "Yes, indeed she is." He murmured it softly and Ayleth swallowed hard.

"Well, child, did you come over here to tell me that? It was very sweet of you if you did." Ayleth said, not having expected the sudden kindness.

"And to braid your hair!" The tiny halfling exclaimed scrunching her eyes up in delight.

"Oh, well, that's very kind of you to offer, but I'm afraid I don't have a brush."

"I do!" The little girl declared, brandishing a wooden brush with stiff bristles. Ayleth almost laughed. She couldn't remember the last time she'd had her hair braided and never in her long life had it been done by a child halfling.

"Well, then, how can I refuse?" The wood elf shrugged and turned herself to face Ruthfin, giving the little halfling more space to work. She pulled the circlet free from her hair and wrapped the leather braids, feathers and beads around her wrist.

After a high pitched squeal of delight behind her, Ayleth began to feel small hands running through her long dark auburn locks. The brush pulled at the wild strands taming them into place, but Ayleth noticed that the sensation was only present at the very lowest reaches of her back. Then it dawned on her that perhaps the little lass wasn't quite tall enough to even reach the top of the elf's mane.

"Here Melindy, let me help you." Ruthfin offered, placing his finished meal on the ground and crawling across the blanket to the back of Ayleth. The Druid felt a bit of movement behind her, the blanket being shifted and then a prickle at the base of her spine as if magic were being cast.

"Oh Mr. Ruthfin! Thank you!" The little girl cried and Ayleth couldn't help herself from glancing back at what the redhead had created. Just behind her body now, stood a small stone step stool that the little halfling was now climbing onto. It brought her height up enough that she could reach the crown of the Elf's head. Ayleth started to open her mouth and ask if he'd used stone shape to craft the stool, but a wink from the other druid stopped her words on her tongue. She resigned to simply keep her thoughts to herself and enjoy the soft pull of the little girls hands as they refashioned her hair.

After what felt like long enough that the little girls parents should have been worried, the tiny halfling announced she was finished. Ayleth reached up to inspect the girls handiwork and found that her long hair had been brushed clean and straight and now a braided crown wrapped fully from temple to temple.

"Well, Ms. Melindy, you have done an excellent job!" Ayleth complimented the tyke.

"It just needs some flowers." The child exclaimed.

"I think that can be arranged." Ayleth smiled and touched the soft braiding with her fingertips, calling a little of the most basic of druid magic to curl tiny wildflowers through the braid. The girls chocolate colored eyes widened with wonder as she watched and as Ayleth finished, she crafted a large daisy into her hand and offered it to the child. "Thank you."

"No, thank _you _!" The little girl clutched the flower in her small hand and Ayleth couldn't believe how large the flora looked in the child's grasp. Then the halfling scurried off toward the main gathering of people and was gone.

"Well that was unexpectedly nice." Ayleth commented smiling.

Ruthfin stood, having long since cleaned up their plates. He'd returned somewhere in the middle of Ayleth having her hair braided with a bottle of what tasted very similar to elven wine. The half-elf had explained that some of the elves in the village actually made the wine themselves and described it as being a bit stronger than traditional elven wine. They weren't wrong. After a full glass, Ayleth could tell there was a difference. It was sweet, the way the wine back home could be, but it had a strength she'd only ever tasted in Dragonborne wine.

The redhead held out his hand in offering and Ayleth let her fingers slide into his palm. When he pulled her to her feet, she overcalculated her momentum and found herself careening into Ruthfin's waiting arms. Part of her wasn't entirely sure that he hadn't intended that from the beginning. Her eyes gazed up into his as she giggled at her own instability.

"Good wine." She cooed, and Ruthfin nodded his agreement. "I'll have to take some of that back with me to the Tower."

Ruthfin ran his hands over the smooth treses of her hair, holding her loosely in the circle of his arms. "Will you take a walk with me?"

"Of course." She murmured and began to follow the other druid through the treeline.

They moved in a slow stride through the moonlit pathways around the Forest Heart. The sounds of night creatures pulsed like a heartbeat through the forest as the druid pair made their way in a wide circle around the village.

"I wanted to tell you, that you're more than exceeding my expectations. With regards to your training." He broke the comfortable silence first and Ayleth beamed at the compliment from her mentor.

"Oooh, exceeding he says."

"I'm serious. In a matter of weeks you've mastered land, sea and air with your wild shaping and I imagine you'll have a handle on every elemental form before I see you again." He was looking forward, but even in the dim light Ayleth could make out his smile. "Before too long, I'll have nothing left to teach you."

"Nonsense!" The elf huffed. "Really Ruthfin, don't allow yourself to be so easily impressed. I barely know what I'm doing half the time."

"Now who's speaking nonsense?" He asked, glancing down at her. "You have accomplished a great deal with very little guidance from me. I suspect you'll be teaching me before long."

"Says the man who used a relatively powerful spell to make a child a step ladder." Ayleth chided.

"Claims the woman who recognized the spell immediately." Retorted the half-elf.

"Stop it. I'll always need you." The moment the words left her mouth, Ayleth stopped walking, suddenly very aware of what she'd just said.

Ruthfin stopped as well, turning enough so that he could face her. She couldn't read his expression. She wasn't sure how he'd taken the small admission, but he said, "Will you?"

The elven druid swallowed hard. "Ruthfin," she began, not knowing what she was even about to say. "There's a lot about me that you don't know. That I haven't told you. A lot that I want to tell you, but I don't know how." She licked her lips. "I've never...no, that's a lie." She took a deep breath. "I haven't cared about someone in a very long time, and I am certain I am much older than you." Even if half-elves aged a little slower than humans, their lifespan was severely stunted because of their human blood. Ruthfin was barely in his thirties, if that. Ayleth was three times his age.

"Do you think that your age bothers me? Whatever it might be?" He asked, reaching out to caress her cheek with the back of his fingers.

"I don't know." She answered honestly. "I suppose not...but when I left home, many years ago, I had no concept of how fragile human life was. I didn't understand how fast time could move when you were around creatures who didn't live for centuries. I allowed myself to care for someone...deeply...only to realize that time did not move for him as it moves for me." Ayleth blinked and a tear fell from her glassy eyes, and then another. "In the blink of an eye, he was gone, and I have never known such pain." She felt another hot tear drag a wet line down her cheek. "I recoiled from it. Ran from that terrible ache in my heart and buried it deep in Lurkwood. For decades I kept to myself. I made no friends, I spoke to no one but the trees and the animals, and I was content. I thought I might stay like that, just sort of numb and drifting through time...alone." She felt his fingers brush aside her tears then and her eyes rolled up to gaze into his golden ones. "But then I met _you _."

His expression was soft and warm and she swallowed the lump in her throat to keep her tears at bay. "And the more I come to know you Ruthfin, the more afraid I am to lose you." Her voice broke at her own confession.

"Ayleth," his voice was gentle and even. "We all have our time here, some more than others, but that simply means we must make the most of the time we are given." Ayleth started to shake her head but Ruthfin cupped her cheeks in his hands and caught her gaze once more. "None of us can know how many moments we have. Even a dragon, long-lived as they are, can be snuffed out as a wyrmling. All we are promised are these very moments we stand in now. _This _moment." Ayleth felt a light pressure beneath her chin as he tilted her face and brought his own down to greet her lips in an almost chaste kiss.

She placed her hands over his and stifled a shaken breath. Her eyes were closed. "Ruthfin...I feel as if I'm falli-"

He cut her off with another press of his lips, his mouth catching her in the middle of her words. He broke away and whispered warmly against her lips, "You cannot fall, not when you have the power to give yourself wings."

Ayleth swallowed her confession. She was smiling, but felt more unsure than before the night had begun. Ruthfin released his hold on her face, letting his hands trace idle lines down her shoulders and over her arms to her fingertips. He caught the delicate hands in his own and gazed at her beneath the moonlight. "Come home with me?" It was hardly a question he needed to ask, but he made it one nevertheless. The young wood elf nodded once and let him lace one hand in hers before leading her back toward the treehouses.

The village was still teaming with life and the scent of food as they made their way back to the center. Ayleth could hear laughter and soft music playing as she began to climb the spiral steps that would lead her back up into Ruthfin's home. She wondered if this was how it was every night in Forest Heart? The warmth of a fire, the laughter of children, good food and the company of friends. It seemed a simple, happy sort of life. A life, the Elven druid wondered if she would ever have.

The house was dark when she entered, a warm breeze lifting the gauzy curtains that framed the windows and opened doors. She felt Ruthfin at her back, his hands caressing up her arms as he framed her with his larger body. With her darkvision, she could make out all the details of his home, but they were grey shadows of their normal selves. Then, as if reading her thoughts, she felt him trace a little glyph against her skin as he breathed a single word incantation into her hair and several candles came to life inside of his open bedroom.

Ayleth smiled as he kissed her hair and then down the shell of her long ear, to the column of her neck. She closed her eyes against the sensation of his lips brushing gently against her skin. His voice was a purred hum in her ear as his fingers began pulling at the leather buckles that held her waist cinch in place. "Let me see you."

She heard the jingle of the buckles and then the thud of the leather hitting the hardwood floor. She licked her suddenly dry lips as his hands slid over her the swell of her hips and down her thighs to the end of the tunic. He drew his fingertips up slowly, catching the hem of the long shirt as he did, drawing it up painfully slow. His knuckles tickled along her bare skin as he slowly gathered the fabric up and over her head. With the garment discarded she felt the backs of his fingers trail along the curve of her breasts and her breath hitched as her body reacted instantly to his careful touch. She tilted her head back against the crook of his neck and he leaned over to kiss her an instant before scooping her body up into his arms.

She ended in the cradle of his arms and he was kissing her as she felt them moving forward. She opened her eyes as he broke free from her lips and set her down gently in front of the bed. She was facing him now, the soft candlelight casting shadows across his face and setting his hair a blaze with golden light. "My turn?" She asked, surprised at how quiet her voice was.

Ruthfin nodded. Ayleth's fingers instinctively reached for the drawstrings that held his pants aloft, but she clenched them into fists and paused, then, with renewed focus, she slipped her hands beneath the tunic. The half-elf held his arms above his head, helping her to pull the linen free from his body. For a moment, Ayleth simply took in what she'd unveiled. Had she ever allowed herself to simply stare at him? Her hands smoothed over the curve of his strong shoulders and across his chest. His abdomen was a tight ripple of hard muscle and she let her fingertips trace the rise and fall of each divot. She was biting her bottom lip, her breathing shifting ever-so-slightly as she touched him. Then her fingers came across a bit of flesh that broke the perfect symmetry of his abs. A scar, paler in color than his skin, stretched nearly eight inches across his stomach, just above his navel.

"I've always had it." Ruthfin's voice cut through the silence as he felt her fingertips tracing the old wound.

"Always?"

"I already had the scar when they found me as a babe."

"As a baby? Oh Ruthfin." She gasped, her heart hurting for the little baby that had to endure whatever had caused this.

"It's alright. It doesn't hurt. It's simply a part of me now."

"No healer could erase it?" She asked. Her own healing capabilities had improved over the past month or so, but she doubted she had anything to offer such a long healed wound.

Ruthfin shook his head causing some of his hair to slide over his shoulders. "None. And many tried. Some with magic, others with potions and poultices, and yet the scar remains."

Ayleth ran her thumb over the thick line of flesh. "Who could have done this to a child...to a baby?" She murmured, tears welling in her eyes for the infant that had to suffer such a travesty.

Ruthfin touched her face, his hand slipping around to the back of her head while his thumb brushed her cheek. "It was long ago and I am in no pain. Do not mourn for something that you could not have helped. Be with me now, as I am." He kissed her softly, parting her lips with his tongue and tasting her. Ayleth opened her mouth to him and kissed him back.

Her fingers found the strings that held his pants in place and as she started to pull against the knot, he murmured against her mouth, "Boots."

Ayleth hissed. "Shit, I keep forgetting about those."

"Here, let me help you." He offered, crouching down suddenly to make short work of unlacing and removing his own shoes. Ayleth stood, watching him as he knelt before her almost nude body. When he'd finished, he gazed up at her from his new position and smiled. His hands slid up the sides of her legs, fingers hooking the delicate undergarment she wore and pulling them down her toned thighs. Ayleth stepped out of the small panties and licked her lips, expecting him to stand back up, but he didn't. Instead, his hand caressed the curves of her legs, mouth kissing a slow deliberate line up each calf. When he lingered on a small scar she knew dwelt on one knee she offered him an explanation.

"Climbing a tree, not long after settling into Lurkwood. I was being chased by a pack of wolves and hadn't yet learned to speak to them. I knew no healing magic to close the wound properly."

Ruthfin kissed the scar and smiled, continuing up her thighs where Ayleth knew another awkward mark marred her skin. Her breath eased out in a sigh as he found the knot of flesh on the back of her other leg.

"I believe I was eleven...and I was convinced I could tame a wild horse if I tried hard enough...thankfully my best friend Teth was trapped at home with his studies that day or he might have told my Mother about the wound. I got it falling from the horse for probably the thousandth time that day, landing on a sharp bit of stone. I tore my dress to make a tourniquet and never told anyone about the wound."

Ruthfin ran his tongue over the small jagged scar and Ayleth sucked in a breath. He spoke against her skin, his golden eyes rolling up to gaze at her. "Did you tame the horse?" He asked, running his teeth over the edges of the mark.

"You bet your ass I did." She affirmed, voice breathy with sudden anticipation as he lifted the leg he was musing over and settled her foot atop his shoulder. She held her breath as he gazed up at her, eyes darkening as only a lover's could, then kissed the innermost part of her thigh. Then kissed the space where her leg touched her body. Then she felt his hand curve up behind her, palm splayed wide across the curve of her ass as he drew her to his mouth and licked a long line up the very center of her.

Her breath rushed out in a gasp and she bit down on her bottom lip as he kissed the most delicate of places. His eyes catching one last glimpse of her before he closed them and nuzzled into the tight folds between her legs, tongue lapping out in a practiced motion and drew a long moan from her mouth. He licked her, stroking over the little bundle of nerves with expert precision, occasionally sucking at the sensitive flesh. Ayleth's breathing quickened with each flick of his tongue and after only moments she felt a fine tremble beginning in her standing leg. With her left hand, she braced herself against the nearest bedpost while her right found itself fisted in the long waves of his copper hair.

His free hand applied a gentle pressure at the lowest point on her abdomen and she felt the sensations intensify. Her knee bent involuntarily, buckling her suddenly, but her arm around the bedpost kept her standing. "Ruthfin…" she warned, mouth dry. "I don't think I'll make it standing."

He drew back just enough to look up at her and she could see his tongue, pressed flat and firm as he pulled away. "I've got you," was all he said before his tongue flicked against her once more.

Ayleth moaned, short breathless sounds, as she held his hair away from his face. Her leg was practically shaking, abdomen clenching as her body bucked and betrayed her, toes curling as warmth began to spread out from a central point where the half-elf sucked and licked and teased her beyond words.

Then, like a cup overflowing without warning, that gentle warmth spilled over her and she was screaming. Her hips arched toward him and her leg gave out, but his hands were around her, holding her aloff as he continued to bring her even past her orgasm. Her fist clenched in his hair while her heel slipped off his shoulder, digging into his back as her body tried to bring itself closer to his mouth.

"Oh gods, Ruthfin!" She cried, body quivering uncontrollably as she fought to breathe.

When he saw fit to stop drawing aftershocks from her body the druid kissed and nuzzled along her inner thigh before lifting her wholly from the floor. Ayleth released her hold on the bedpost and gripped the back of his head with both hands as he laid her back on the soft bed. She was still seeing spots in the dim light, eyelids heavy with pleasure as her breath came too fast and deep.

"Are your pants _still _on?" She mused, almost drunkenly giggling from the euphoria that spread out to every point in her body.

She felt the mattress shift with his weight as he lowered himself between her bent knees. "Not anymore." He cooed, just as she felt the silken brush of his tip along the slick space between her legs. Her mouth opened in a soft O as she sucked in a gasp of anxious air. His mouth clasped over hers, tongue sliding along her own and she felt a ghost of muscle memory draw a moan from her throat. With the kiss she felt the pressure of his hard length teasing her and she arched her hips toward him, her legs wrapping around his back and drawing him down. Ruthfin didn't fight her pull and let his body slowly lower into her. Both druids moaned at the sensation as he entered her and they continued to kiss as he brought their bodies flush against one another.

This was not the hurried lovemaking they had shared in times past. This was slow and careful, deep and sensual. There was no rush to a climax. Ruthfin kept a calm, steady pace and Ayleth was almost unsure in the intimacy. He looked her in the eyes, kissed her lips, her neck, her breasts, he kissed every inch of her that he could and she kissed him back. Their breaths echoed in tandem as their bodies moved as one.

She came again with her whole body shaking against him and when he came he buried his face in her neck, smelling her hair and almost telling her...almost…

She lay there, spooned in his arms, as the candles slowly burned out. She could feel his deep even breaths against her hair as he found sleep before her and the elf let herself take in the moment they were promised. She recorded it all to memory and relived it in her own kind of dream when she tranced.

Ayleth opened her eyes and it was still full dark out. The sounds of laughter and music from outside had long since ended and had been replaced by the deep woods sounds of the night. Somewhere an owl hooted and a wolf howled to its pack. The elven druid blinked, letting her eyes adjust to the darkness. She could still feel the gentle rise and fall of Ruthfin's chest at her back as he slept deeply.

Ever so slowly, the elf slipped free from Ruthfin's arms and out of his bed. She glanced back to be sure he still slept before gathering her things as quietly as possible. She dressed in her armor and then dug into her bag of holding for one of the gowns she'd taken from the haunted house back in Neverwinter. The human who had worn the garments had been a little larger than the elf and the indigo fabric slid over Ayleth's head with ease. The druid stowed her staff and all of her headdress save for the large Pegasus feather that gave her, her focus. That, she braided into a lock of hair behind her ear. She peeked in on the sleeping druid every now and then, careful not to disturb him.

When she was satisfied that she was prepared, she went to the small writing desk she had seen in the main room. There was a small stack of parchment and ink sitting out in the open and with hurried fingers she began scribing in elvish across the paper.

_**Ruthfin, **_

_**I wish I could stay here forever, but I think we both know that can never happen.**_

_**I've lied to you, or at least, withheld so many truths that lying is what it feels like. I want to tell you everything, but like so much of what we are, there simply isn't time.**_

_**I want you to know, that everything changed when I met you. Everything I thought I knew of this world since leaving home over seven decades ago...everything changed when you came to me that night in Cragholm. **_

_**I do not know this Keremar, but I know why he has come. Even if I can convince him to leave, he will not be the last person who comes asking. I won't risk the safety of the Forest Heart because of my actions. Not when I finally have something worth protecting. **_

_**Know that no matter what happens to me...my wildheart is forever yours...**_

_**Always, **_

_**Bryn**_

Ayleth stared for a moment at her true name, at the name she'd left home with, at the name she'd left behind. She almost scratched it out, almost balled the whole letter up and burned it, but he deserved more than that. With shaking hands, she withdrew the large ruby clasp she'd had engraved back in Mirabar from her bag of holding. She held the gem in one hand and tore at her skirts beneath the gown with her other, ripping free the last strip of fabric that belonged to her original elven dress. The same dress this Keremar had described to Ruthfin in passing. Ayleth wrapped the gift in the scrap and used it to weigh down her letter.

She risked a final kiss against the other druid's forehead, praying to whatever god was watching over her that she would live to see him again. Then she stepped out onto his balcony, sat down on the enchanted broom and with a last glance back at her love, flew off into the night and to whatever awaited her in Thunderwood.


	3. Ai Armiel Telere Maenen Hir

_**(After traveling to Thunderwood intent on finding this Keremar person and sending him on his way, Ayleth instead finds a town with a strange air about it. Upon investigating the Inn, where she believes Keremar is at, she narrowly escapes a Dominate Person spell via the Innkeeper, TWICE! After she turns hostile on the Innkeeper, the strange woman locks herself in an office and leaves Ayleth to her search. What she finds in the basement of the Inn is a bound, gagged and blindfolded elven man. He is handsome and well dressed and Ayleth tells him she is there to rescue him, but he must follow her instructions. She removes his blindfold and there is a moment of recognition in his eyes as she tells him he must keep quiet and if she suspects any foul play, she won't hesitate to kill him. He nods in understanding and she removes his gag, whereupon he immediately calls her "Bryn?" and a smile spreads over his face. Ayleth admits to being Bryn but has no idea who this man is. "I take it you're Keremar?" She hisses, and he nods but then adds, "Yes, but don't you recognize me? It's Teth!" Teth, her childhood best friend. Teth who she hasn't seen in 85 years.**_

_**The week of this session, my DM had us all doing individual small story threads. For my character's part, it was finding this Keremar person. Turns out, he was Teth, my childhood best friend and eventual first love. Apparently, my DM had planned him for months, the evil sneak! Ayleth and Teth narrowly escaped Thunderwood, because it was overrun with Oblexes. Ayleth ended up getting a memory stolen from the Oblex they fought, specifically, she forgot her entire night in the Forest Heart with Ruthfin! After they decided to retreat, they teleported back to Ayleth's tower to gather her friends to return to Thunderwood and fight the Oblexes. Unfortunately, half the party was still out on their own missions or resting. So, the pair decided to take their rest as well and return to Thunderwood at full strength. What follows here is a written RP session between myself and my DM (playing Keremar, in bold text) of the conversation and actions that happened between Ayleth and Keremar before their long rest...)**_

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**"So...you apparently own a tower from which you teleport to and fro, have mastered shape-changing abilities, and command an eclectic group of spellcasters? Bryn, have you turned to the life of a mercenary? Spell-for-hire and all that?"**

Ayleth watched Valtrix set himself up with the Eye on a small table in the corner of the library while Sartan's tail swished lazily against the stone floor as he sleepily left the room.

They were practically alone.

For a moment, Ayleth hadn't even heard the elf beside her speaking. Her mind was still racing against what her body told her it needed, what her heart wanted her to do, and what her head said had to wait. They had no idea how many of those things were back at Thunderwood, and without rest and her allies, she was no use to the village, no matter how much she might have wanted to race back there to finish what she'd started only hours before.

She breathed a sigh. "I'd tell you that you're oversimplifying it, Teth, but I don't want to frighten you."

"I'll be downstairs if you need anything, Val." She called out to the wizard before motioning Teth to the door and the staircase that would take them into the deeper parts of the Tower.

"I'm sure you're more accustomed to a soft bed, but for anything resembling that you'll have to rest in the room with the half-devil and half-orc." She called over her shoulder, smiling a bit as her bare feet padded down the stone. "My accomodations are much more...rustic…"

The elven druid led him into the almost cave-like hallway that opened into the cenote and subsequent oasis that transitioned from it out into the open air. The air was slightly cooler in the hall and a nice draft whirled up from the partial cave and cool waters just ahead. Ayleth led the way, her skirts dragging the stonework behind her and as she entered her sanctuary a small rusty colored cat curled around her feet in greeting. She reached down and scooped up the feline, giving him a little nuzzle. "Hello Samir, I'm glad you're well. Look we have a visitor." She turned around to face the tall elven man at her heels. "Samir this is Teth...er...Keremar. Keremar, this is Samir."

**Keremar stood for a moment, seeming to take in the lush vegetation and rocky walls around them before looking down inquisitively at the little cat.**

**"Ah yes, hello Samir. Are you also part of Ayleth's team here?" He held a hand out toward the cat with one finger extended so the feline could smell him. **

**"You know, when I set out to find you, I spent many of the days on the road imagining what life and adventures you had made for yourself out here." After Samir seemed to be satisfied that Keremar was not prey or an intruder, he began gently scratching the cat on the head. "Your Mother was convinced you would be barely alive, forced to waitress in some tavern to make ends meet...or worse." He smiled then and looked to her with his sapphire eyes. "I knew differently. I remembered my friend who pulled me up many a tree and down many a cave in the name of exploring. I knew you'd be thriving out in the world." He took the briefest moment to look her from head to toe as if discreetly assessing her for the first time.**

**"What I wasn't prepared for was just how powerful you've become...and how beautiful."**

Ayleth saw him looking at her. She'd seen that look before, many times, but Keremar was a little more deft in his observations, careful not to linger too long on any one area. It wasn't uncommon for non-elves to find themselves staring at elvenkind. To outsiders, the elves were ethereal, impossibly beautiful, and the stuff of magic. To one another, however, elves were just as critical and cruel as any schoolyard bully. Ayleth remembered what it was like being a lowly wood elf visiting the white spires of the High Forest. Those sun and moon elves, those _high_elves, sneered and scoffed at her bare feet and dark, but not dark enough, hair. They turned their noses up at her sun-kissed skin and strong legs. Even as her body blossomed and bloomed into the curves of her womanhood, she would never be the elegant visage they demanded. She was the outsider. A bit of quartz in a glittering sea of diamonds.

The druid let the cat roll out of her arms and scamper off to hunt mice. She kept her gaze from lingering too long on Keremar. She'd learned long ago how to school her face. To keep it even and unfeeling, even as the heat crept up her neck beneath the gown she still wore.

"I suppose the same could be said for you...Bladesinger." Her eyes fell to his sheathed sword, rather than settle on his beautiful face. Because he was beautiful. The ruddy cheeked boy with a mop of white hair was all strong lines and broad shoulders. He'd grown tall, masculine and lean. His face was smooth and just a little arrogant. Nose straight, mouth a perfect bow, eyes like two gemstones glittering behind thick lashes. His long ears poked out from the fall of pale, almost white hair. Among other elves, Ayleth imagined Keremar was something to be desired. Out here, among humans, he probably stopped both women and men in their tracks.

Ayleth scoffed softly through her nose. How easily she had removed herself from human attention by simply refusing to wear the very thing she currently disguised herself in. Once she'd stopped worrying about every little scrap of fabric she put on her body and how intricate the braids of her hair were, fewer and fewer people seemed to notice her. It was just as well. She'd dressed the part of what she knew they would have expected to find, but there was no reason for pretense now. Not with Teth. Though, she was interested to see his very elven reaction to her new persona.

Ignoring his compliments completely, Ayleth spun her heels, lifting off the bag of holding from across her body and setting it down beside her along with her Staff of the Woodlands. Her fingers then digging into the folds of the gown she covered herself in. "Help me out of this, will you?"

**Keremar stood motionless for a moment, seeming to process the request. Then, as if composing himself to begin a sonnet, stated "Yes, of course. That can't have been comfortable to fight in." And began deftly unlacing the lattice of straps on the back of the dress. He quietly set to the task at-hand, clearly focusing on the dress and not the slowly exposing flesh of Ayleth's back as the fabric came apart. "Do you always fight body-thieving slime creatures dressed so formally?" Keremar said in a jovial tone. He immediately winced uncomfortably after, however, as if remembering the shock of feeling the Oblex's attack and the unnerving simulacrums of the townsfolk it had created.**

She waited until she could feel the tension in the fabric easing before suddenly pulling the dress up over her head. The indigo colored fabric peeled away from her arms and torso, exposing the usual attire of the elven druid beneath it. Her arms were bared, tattoos exposed across the front of one shoulder and collarbone and another banded around and down her forearm. Her bust heaved up into the sort of backless halter top she'd fashioned from the remains of some long shredded gown, the tight cinch of the leather around her waist hoisting her breasts into the softer fabric of the top. Her "skirts" fell in tangles of strips of fabric, some leather, some linen, others of hide and even the occasional fine silk. Her bare feet flexed on the stone and she shook out her hair, missing the jingle of beads and feathers from her circlet.

"No, I wore that especially for you." She huffed, grabbing up the bundle of material that was the dress and stuffing it into the bottomless bag.

**Keremar cocked his head inquisitively and then raised an eyebrow as understanding came over his face. "Ah...you wore it for whomever was looking for you." He paused a moment to look at her newly revealed attire and then around the cenote, as if pondering which of the two had flourished with chaotic growth first.**

**"I know this must be both sudden and strange. My intent was not to cause distress. If you had written back home, the situation could have been explained in return letters. There was a lot decided for you without you being present, despite my protests that you deserved to know and decide for yourself. That's why I am here now instead of some brutish hunter overpaid to be a messenger." Keremar turned his head to look into the clear pool of the oasis in front of them as he finished his sentence.**

He was still smart as a whip. He missed nothing, and not even the sarcasm in her retort could penetrate his ironclad mind.

"If I had written back home?" She scoffed at the notion. "What for? So, Mother could beckon me home sooner? So she could sneer and needle at whatever life I'd chosen up to that point? So I could lie and evade even the simplest question because my Mother wouldn't have understood even an inkling of what I'd been through over the past 70 years?"

She stared at him for a moment and then turned her eyes to the clear, cool water before them. A deep wanton notion to simply jump in and swim away filling her suddenly. "I didn't want to be found, Teth. I came to that town prepared to fight for these last remaining months. For whatever time I needed Mother to give me to finish what I've started here."

Her reflection shivered back at her against the water's surface. She almost didn't recognize herself with her hair woven around in an intricate braid and falling in cleanly brushed waves down her back. Without the circlet she felt as if she were some imposter; putting on the armor of a forest guardian, playing dress up and pretend. Ayleth kicked a small pebble into the pool, forcing her own image out of view.

"I know I should have written, at least something. I know what it's like to have your letters go unanswered for so long." The last was a stab at the elf standing beside her, and she knew it. "I kept writing you for over a year when you stopped replying. Hoping against hope, you were just thinking up a way to come and take me away from that life." She swallowed hard, fist clenching and unclenching at her side as she bit her bottom lip. "You're about 85 years too late, Teth."

**"I know," was all Keremar softly said at first, as if giving Ayleth time to express anything else. When she didn't, he took a deep breath and let it out as he sat down on the rocky grass, leaving one knee up and letting the other fine leather-clad leg rest on the ground. **

**"When you're that young, you think you have all the time in the world." He closed his eyes as is calling forth a trance-induced memory right there. "It still seems like we have so long compared to everyone else. But especially then. I read your letters, Bryn. I read every one and then I thought...well, I'm so very busy with my studies, surely I can make time to write her back. But when you do as your told and create a new life in a new part of the world, even the regular reminders of that former place of childhood dreams and adventures seems like a fantasy tale. Getting to it later turns in to shame at letting it go so long and then resolve of thinking it's better off that contact was truly severed." **

**He ran his hands over the tendrils of soft grass snaking their way up between sun-baked stones. "When my family...when I came back to the High Forest with them, that all came crashing back. I couldn't pretend that I hadn't tucked you away in the back of my mind so long ago and ignored you." Keremar looked up from the ground toward her, not with a sense of sadness nor stubbornness, but instead a look of open honesty. "I'm so sorry, Bryn...Ayleth. You have every right to be guarded and angry. No matter what our two families think should happen in the next few months, I'm here because I want to be. Because I wanted to see you and to tell you what a fool I have been to cast you away." His gaze turned back to the water as a gentle breeze blew through the natural caves and crevices around them and made the pool of water ripple.**

She didn't turn around to face him, didn't let her eyes follow him as he folded his agile body down onto the soft grass, didn't let herself flinch as he gave her his side of the story. The side she'd never been able to hear. He made no demands on her emotionally. He was simply stating facts and accepting them as they came at him. Pragmatic as ever.

"It just seems a little too convenient. A little too good to be true." Years of solitude had made her distrust almost everything and everyone. Animals and plants were easy to understand. People, not so much. "I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop. For the inevitable twist...the caveat I haven't anticipated." She licked her lips and inhaled deeply. There had to be more to it. Nothing was ever so easy.

Ayleth sighed and lowered herself down to the edge of the pool. She let her feet hang off the edge, dipping them into the cold water up to about the middle of her calves. She stared off into the warm summer sky as it's clouds cast shadows across the tower. "Well, whatever the case, I can't leave now. Too much is happening and I have to see something through to the end." Her hand reached up absently for the lavender hued crystal embedded between her breasts, the very top of it just peeking out from her blouse. "If you stay with me I'm afraid you'll get caught up in it and I...I don't think I can protect you from what's coming."

**Keremar nodded solemnly, still watching the wind ripple on the pond of the cenote. "Well, you've already saved me once. I'm already quite confident you could do it again if you so wished." **

**He then reached up and unbuckled the scabbard strap that stretch diagonally across his chest, catching the hilted blade with his hand as it came free of its place. He placed his weapon on the ground between them and stretched out his arms, making a low pained groan as bruised and cramped muscles were made to move in ways they hadn't in a few days. **

**"Ahh, that's better," Keremar let out with a breath. "There's no twist here except for the twist my neck took when that thing battered me in the face and the twist of my empty stomach trying to scrape up any crumbs it can find."**

**Keremar let himself lean back, putting his arms on the ground behind him and turned his face toward hers.**

**"I won't be here long if that is what you wish. I'm here officially to soothe the fears of our families by officially presenting myself, but as I've said...I really came to explain myself and offer aid as I could. You deserve more, but it's what I have. At least for now."**

She looked at the fine Elven sword between them. There was no doubting the craftsmanship was Elven, both by design and because a Bladesinger would have only wielded the light, perfectly balanced weapons of elvenkind. Though there was something about the sword that almost called to the druid. She started to ask about it when she heard Keremar groan, leaning back against his still-gloved hands, the muscles in his bare forearms tensing with the weight of his body.

Ayleth looked at him then, a little longer than she'd allowed herself before. She could see only a little of his pale skin where his arms were not covered. His hands were clad in soft, worn leather that looked buttery soft and was starkly black against the alabaster of his skin. He wore a fine powder grey shirt, sleeves rolled up to his elbow, beneath a stiff gambeson of dark charcoal grey. Ayleth could make out soft, almost shimmering embroidery along the surface of the gambeson. Little elven filigree done in silver thread to match his buttons. His pants were the same soft black leather, stretched taut across his legs before disappearing into well made boots.

The druid licked her lips. He'd grown since she last saw him. Not just in his height, but overall, his body was stronger and honed, like the agile duelist he'd become. She wondered for a moment, how more of him might look, without the fine elven garments obscuring his form.

Ayleth sucked in a sharp breath, breaking herself free of her thoughts. In one swift motion, she reached into the cool water and splashed an armful into the Bladesinger's direction.

"Fool of an elf! Why didn't you say something before!" She'd been so frantic about getting aid and finding out more about the Oblex's she'd completely forgotten how Keremar had been trapped in that basement for more than a day, presumably without food or water. Not to mention the beating he'd taken at the hands of the one they'd fought.

Ayleth stood swiftly, leaving the cavern without a word and making her way into a small storage room one floor up. They were rarely at the Tower for long periods of time, so keeping fresh food was pointless. They did, however, keep a stock of wine, dried meats and fruits. The wood elf gathered a bowl full of what she could find and a bottle of some of the Dragonborn wine Alcacia kept at the Come On Inn. It wasn't a fine meal, and nothing like what he was probably accustomed to, but it would have to do.

She returned to the cenote with food and drink in hand and placed both the bowl and the wine down before him. "It's not much, but it's better than nothing." She huffed, kneeling down in front of him. For a moment her eyes searched his and she held her breath before grumbling. "Sorry, I'm not a very thoughtful host." Without asking, she slipped her hands around either side of his face, breathing deeply of the air around them before pouring warm healing magic into him. The large, white feather hidden beneath her long hair shimmered to life as she focused her divine magic on Keremar.

When the spell had faded, she let her hands linger there a little longer than was needed, enjoying the warmth of his skin against hers. Then she drew back and turned a little away, focusing again on the sword he'd been wearing. Something about it…

Ayleth reached out, not asking permission, and touched the hilt with the tips of her fingers. A gasp shot through her lips as the zing of wild magic arced into her hand and up her arm. Instinctively she drew back, not expecting the little jolt of energy to reach for her, but then the realization hit her.

"This is Ironbark." It wasn't a question. "Of course it is. Did my Father make this for you?" She was rubbing her fingers together, a wondrous sort of smile curling across her mouth.

**Keremar had moved his hand up to where Ayleth had placed hers on his face and took a large portion of the jerky-like meat into his mouth when she touched the sword and asked of its origin. His eyebrows raised and he began to laugh, then choke a bit from laughing while swallowing. After clearing his throat, Keremar nodded, smiling. **

**"He did indeed make it," he said. "Which is quite amusing since he said you would recognize his work on sight. I didn't believe him at the time but, shows what I know." **

**The Bladesinger placed his hand on the end of the pommel of the sword and then slowly ran it up the hilt, tracing over the runes carved into the wood.**

**"He said..." Keremar began, but then changed his voice to sound more experience but also more relaxed. "...if you're going to be part of the family, you'll have to work with the family tools, boy."**

**He moved his hand further down the hilt, close to where Ayleth's rested and continued,**

**"Your father even had me hew the wood with his blessed axe. It was quite an experience." His hand now came to rest just a breath from Ayleth's, his little finger brushing against her thumb. As this happened, Keremar looked up and his eye was caught by the crystal embedded in the Druid's chest.**

**"Speaking of experiences," he said. "That's slightly more than some new tattoos. Is that a...Binding Crystal?" His brow furrowed with concern as he leaned in closer to look at it.**

At his impression of her Father, the young elven woman felt her face contort most peculiarly. Caught somewhere between sadness and joy, it was enough that it caused her vision to blur for a moment as her eyes became glassy. Her Mother may have been a thorn in her side, but Ayleth missed her Father dearly.

She started to tell him he should be so honored to have used her Father's axe when he noticed the crystal catch the light just between her breasts. It was sort of hard to miss, and yet difficult to see well with her blouse obscuring it.

Ayleth sighed and nodded. "I believe that's what Valtrex called it. Uh, he's the wizard upstairs in the library fussing over things. He's a very fussy sort of human. Very skittish too. Blushes a lot. You should have seen his face when…" She licked her lips, figuring it might be best to leave out the part where Valtrex saw her nude.

"Anyway, that's why I can't leave. We all have these. Myself and my companions upstairs. My large, orcish friend thought it would be a wise idea to smash a big statue of some woman in a cave...turns out that woman was a lich bound to that very crystal. Not so much anymore." Ayleth sighed. That seemed like a lifetime ago now. How much things had changed since then.

She moved her hand from the blade and began to unbuckle the waist cinch beneath her breasts. She made quick work of it and had the wide leather band off in a flash, then her nimble fingers reached beneath her hair and pulled free the knot that held her top in place. The material fell in a soft swish of fabric, pooling around her middle in gentle folds that framed her now exposed, high breasts and the extent of the binding crystal framed by them.

"Would you like a closer look?"

**Keremar's pale cheeks were a sudden flush of red as Ayleth shed her top to reveal the crystal in question as well as her exposed breasts. "Yes I...ah..." the High Elf stammered. "I better see if there's something I can tell about them...it, that your Human wizard missed."**

**He reached back toward his pack that he had set down as they entered the cenote and dragged it over to where they sat. **

**"I'm not exactly an expert on such spells but..." he paused again to look at her, purposefully at her face this time. "...fresh eyes and all that, as they say."**

**Keremar reached into his pack and retrieved a small rectangular wooden box. Opening the box revealed a set of round golden-rimmed spectacles with bright blue lenses that seemed to glow in the sunshine. **

**"These are enchanted to specifically pick up and discern traces of arcane energy," he explained as he pulled the glasses from their case and slid them on. With them equipped, he looked almost studious except for his dueling tunic and gloves. Keremar cleared his throat and softly said, "Let's see here," and then peered directly at the pearlescent stone. **

**"Yes it is definitely a binding enchantment," he murmured as if reading off a text book page. "The magic is quite powerful and complex. It is also definitely of our people, this design."**

**He slipped the glove off one hand without taking his eyes off the crystal and slowly held it out. "Now, I wonder if it..." he began as he held out his right index finger and touched it to the crystal between Ayleth's breasts. There was a brief arc of energy as if a tiny lightning bolt shot from the gem into the Bladesinger's hand. "Ow!" he exclaimed. "Yes...yes it has a warding on it." He winced, removing the spectacles with his left hand while shaking his right as if it were numbed or burned.**

"Are you hurt?" Ayleth reached out reflexively, not expecting the crystal to react like that. She'd seen it touched before, but it had never visibly shocked anyone before. Then again, she wasn't entirely sure what Keremar had just attempted to do. It was possible the stone had a mind of its own. A slightly unsettling thought.

She grasped his offended hand between hers, inspecting his bare fingers. "Oh your hand…" There was a small burn stretching down his pointer finger. Red splotches marred the pale skin and the barest hint of a blister was quickly forming. Ayleth stared a little shocked at the wound.

"I didn't know it would do that." She explained, feeling guilty that it had harmed him. "I'm sorry, it's never done that." She almost stammered the last. She quickly whispered the spell to cure his wounds beneath her breath, tracing the somatic pattern across his marred skin before a warm, soothing balm of magic washed over it. She watched as the burn paled and the skin reknitted itself to the unblemished visage it had been only moments before. Then she smiled softly and looked up at Keremar, who was much, much closer now that she had put herself so near him to heal his hand.

"There, is that better?" She was still sort of petting the spot on his finger where the burn had been, her other hand holding his firmly beneath. She could smell the slight scent of ozone on him. That crisp sort of static that filled the air before a thunderstorm. Ayleth breathed him in, closing her eyes for a moment at the familiarity of it. He smelled like leather and steel and magic and somewhere beneath it all, he smelled like tea olives. A strange blossom that smelled sweeter than one thought it should. She used to ask Teth what oils he must have rubbed into his clothes to smell so good and the scent of it now brought a thousand memories back to the surface of her mind.

"You said the design was of _our people _?" She murmured, but her voice had quieted, as if she were just trying to break the silence stretching between them now. Ayleth didn't move away, still half clothed and holding his hand in hers. She needed to distract herself, but couldn't quite let him go just yet.

**Keremar stared with wonder as his hand, clasped in hers, returned to it's natural skin shade, the electrical burn disappearing within a moment. He sat there in silence, simply holding his hand out but then gently clasped Ayleth's hand that cast the spell and ran his fingertips along the back of her hand up to her wrist, tracing his fingers up her forearm and elbow, eventually picking up the line of one of her tattoos up her shoulder, her neck, and finally her jaw and cheek. He rested his hand there and caressed her cheek with his thumb.**

**"This reminds me of days we would hide away in secluded parts of the high forest," he finally said barely above a whisper. "You would find some gulley or undiscovered meadow and we would claim it as our own magical land for the day. And we would talk and run...and I would kiss you." Keremar leaned down and forward as he said that. "...like this."**

**Keeping his hand on her cheek, he brought his lips to hers in a gentle but longing kiss, one that was tempered with patience but had the anticipation of decades behind it. In the space of a few heartbeats, he broke away sat back up straight, letting his hand fall from her face. "I'm sorry," he whispered. "That was presumptuous of me."**

The weight of a life times worth of longing and regret crashed down on her with the brush of his lips against hers. Memories flooded her thoughts as his words transformed the cenote around them into a glade nestled in the far reaches of her mind. She could picture the ruins, feel the breeze of the elven forest and hear birds that dared not travel this far toward the coast. She was back there, back in time, a girl barely blossoming into womanhood, a girl painfully in love with the boy before her.

So many years of buried emotion swelled to the surface so fast it made her gasp, breathless suddenly as tears filled her eyes.

No. No. No.

She swallowed it down, angrily. She clenched her teeth and willed the feelings away. Her eyes staring at the stones and grass of the cavern floor as she shook her head.

"Yes," she murmured, lost in her own dark place. "It was." A single tear broke free as she looked back up at him, his posture perfect, manners covering his face like a mask. She rose up on her knees and began to tie the top back in place, angry, sharp movements of her strong arms.

"You can't kiss me like we're still children, Keremar." She scolded, her face flush with more emotion than she had allowed herself in years.

She met his sapphire eyes. His jeweltone eyes that almost glittered in the reflection of the pool. She closed what distance he'd put between them suddenly, breathing the last as her own hand clutched his face. "You need to kiss me like you've earned that name." And her lips were on him.

**The High Elf was at first stiff as steel as Ayleth pressed her lips to his but in a heartbeat, wrapped his arms around her and pulled her even closer to him. His hands found purchase on the small of her back so as to not impede hers on his face. He kissed her deeply, then. A different kind of kiss from what he had done many years ago and from a moment ago. This was a more practiced kiss that spoke of possible past lovers that had only served to bridge a gap between these times that Ayleth was in his arms. With both hands around behind her, Keremar pulled off his other glove and let it fall to the ground, then began unbuttoning the gilded silver clasps that held his padded vest together, exposing his neck and then collar bones and upper chest as the shirt beneath fell open as well.**

Her hands slid down either side of his neck as the stiff, masterfully tailored material loosened and exposed the pale line of flesh beneath. His skin was warm and smooth wherever her fingers touched and she helped guide open the vest and soft shirt beneath it.

His tongue explored her mouth as the kiss deepened and drew a distant moan from somewhere inside her throat. Her hands jerked the almost silken material of his shirt free from wherever he'd kept it tucked inside the pants he'd been practically poured into. With the material bellowing softly around him her expert hands snuck their way under the fabric to find the sculpted flesh beneath. She smoothed her hands out over his abdomen, feeling every perfect divot and chiseled muscle on her way up. The sensation came with a sharp inhale from the Druid as she enjoyed exploring each toned ounce of his body. A body that was very different than how she remembered it.

Suddenly, Ayleth pushed hard against his chest and he rocked backwards onto his heels. She advanced on him, driving him further back as she crawled over his knees. He had to react quickly to draw his legs out from under him before the position became uncomfortable. She barely gave him a moment to adjust before her nails were raking thin lines over the soft leather of his pants. She kissed the tip of his nose and smiled like a predator as her hands found the silver buttons at the top of his pants, then she stole a breathless kiss from his lips as she unfastened them and began pulling at the laces below.

Keremar's eyes were open and focused on the wood elf as she asserted herself over his body. Her mouth taking deep kisses, her hands tensing every muscle beneath his skin, and her body maneuvering into a position he dared not put her in of his own accord, but that he very, very much enjoyed. He could only try to keep up with her movements and anticipate what she might be planning next, but this was not the same girl he'd kissed under willow trees decades ago. Ayleth was a force of nature now. Emboldened, powerful, assertive and strong. She was a woman that would take what she wanted if need be and Keremar, in that instant, was inclined to give her whatever she so desired.

He felt her hands slip beneath the tight fabric of his pants and his breath hissed in with a gasp. With practiced skill and precision, she drew her prize free from its cage and sealed her mouth over his in a forceful kiss. He felt her thighs tense as she drew herself further into his lap, one hand gripping him firmly while the other fussed with her skirts.

Ayleth held him ready, her hand sliding up and down in gentle coaxing of what awaited him. She kissed him eagerly as she wrestled to move her skirts aside, but it was as if one piece was always in the way. For a moment she broke from his luscious mouth to glance down and direct her irritating garment properly, but a sudden wave of deja vu came over her, only it wasn't in this place or with this person at all.

For the briefest, quickened breath, she looked at Keremar and didn't see him. She saw a shock of red hair and a smile that was all for her.

Ayleth released him so suddenly and jerked away so quickly, she fell back onto her tailbone hard against the stone floor. She backpedaled away from him, breathing too fast and seeing spots. "Stop, stop, we can't. I can't. I'm sorry." When she felt the edge of the pool just behind her, she stood up with such speed, one would have thought she'd cast haste on herself. If she'd been able to wildshape again, she might have turned into a fish and swam away or better yet a bird.

She couldn't look at him, her eyes rapidly searching for anything else to look at than the beautiful elf she'd just cast aside. "Forgive me, Teth." Her breath shuddered out. "I shouldn't have done that to you. I-" she was at a loss for words for once. What had just come over her? Why would she have hesitated? There was no reason to deny what was right in front of her and yet...some part of her hadn't wanted to go through with it. Not now at least.

**Keremar's expression quickly changed from bliss to concern to regret as Ayleth stood in her panic. He wordlessly stood up, refastening his pants and shirt but leaving his outer coat open. **

**"No it's fine," he began. "It's my fault. I arrived with assumptions, despite what I have said, and tried to catch you up into them. It's been a long time and I should have known. I did know, but didn't want to face that we've both experienced a Human's lifetime since we've seen each other."**

**Looking down, averting Ayleth's gaze as much as she his, a realization come over his face. He snapped a finger with abruptness and kicked one foot with another.**

**"I did not even think to ask if you had someone in your life now that was special to you." He shook his head, placing a hand to his temple. "I'm an arrogant clod." Walking closer to her in order to retrieve his unequipped weapon, he then knelt down in front of her, picked up his sword and placed the sheathed blade to his chest. "Allow me to express my deepest apologies. I will not press nor even mention the issue further and you can count on me as an able ally in battle on the morrow."**

Ayleth felt her heartbeat slowing down, her breathing coming back to almost normal when she had been close to hyperventilating before. She felt a soft smile beginning to tug at the corners of her mouth as he took the blame upon himself and eloquently apologized.

At his realization, the wood elf felt her eyes widen in a kind of terror. That same heart wrenching sensation gripped her lungs again and panic swam through her. "No, no, it's not like that." She reassured him, taking a reflexive step toward him. "I'm not, there isn't...I...that is…" she looked down at the ground, searching. Why was this so hard to articulate? There wasn't anything like that between her and Ruthfin, was there? It was sex and a bit of fun. A kind of friendship with benefits. Wasn't it?

She remembered the clasp she'd had made sitting in her bag of holding now. It had been an impulse to have it made, but she knew there was a deeper reason than simple urge. Even if she never gave it to him. Even if he never knew...it didn't change the meaning behind why.

"It's not like that." She repeated, and even to her, it sounded like a lie.

When he knelt before her and professed his allegiance, she wanted to slap him, but it made her smile. Same old Teth and yet, so very different now that he was Keremar. She managed to make herself walk closer, close enough to touch him. Her slender hand slid across his smooth cheek and beneath his chin, curling her fingers around to tilt his face up to gaze into her kaleidoscope colored eyes. Most elves had eyes like gemstones or molten gold or silver. Ayleth's eyes seemed to never quite decide what color they wanted to be, and shifted and swirled to encompass many glittering shades like facets of a prism.

"I think we're both at fault here, and deserve another try." She leaned over him where he knelt, looking like some knight out of a noble elven court. Her lips brushed against his with more restraint than she felt like she'd ever possessed. She kissed him in a way that was not like their childhood, but not so full of unbridled passion that it couldn't be controlled. She kissed him gently and fully and tried to let herself feel everything that kiss could represent.

"I'm glad you're here, Teth. I can't imagine who I'd rather have come calling, but, allow me a little time...for everything. We have that on our side at least don't we?" She kissed him once more and it was almost chaste, before she stood back to her full height. "A lot has happened and I've no doubts that a lot more is yet to come. I'm going to need...time…"

She took a step away from him, and then another, and another, until her toes touched air and she let herself fall backwards into the chilly waters of the cenote, grateful for the brisk sensation to force away all the emotional turmoil from her body.

**Keremar lingered there, almost as if staying in one place would make their kiss last another few moments. He stood and watched as Ayleth fell backward into the azure pool. He nodded and leaned over, gently placing his sword on top of his pack. **

**"Time is what you requested and time is fairly given. It's something that I hope..." he paused as he slipped the unbuttoned vest off and let it fall to the ground. "...that we have much of." The agile Wizard then pulled his mostly untucked shirt up over his head, revealing his full slender and fit torso.**

**"We should probably get some rest soon if we are prepared to face the creatures in that village again, but that pool looks very refreshing." He watched her float gracefully as he let the buttons on his pants come free, one of them still undone from Ayleth's earlier doings. He slipped them off and left them by his shirt and vest, revealing a short pair of dark grey breeches that were very tight to his body so not to obstruct the fabric of his pant legs. With agility and precision of a diving falcon, Keremar took two steps and leapt in an arc into the water of the cenote. He surfaced a heartbeat later, shooting up like a cork, blue-gemmed eyes wide with surprise. **

**"Corellon be good! It is QUITE cold in here!" he exclaimed and looked to Ayleth with both shock and a smile on his face.**

She hadn't expected him to follow her in, but couldn't turn him away now. Her eyes watched him from just out of the water while he undressed and revealed his picturesque form bit by bit. It was almost painful to witness, knowing she'd already burnt that bridge for the day. The strong legs, the lean torso, the well defined arms, all pale and perfectly smooth and rippling in the soft morning light.

The snug-fitting breeches made her grin beneath the water. She'd bypassed those in an instant and even now, could picture what lay just beneath the delicate material. Ayleth cursed inwardly. What in the nine hells was wrong with her? Who in their right mind would turn down Keremar? And he was here, for _**her**_. He wanted _**her.**_ If she wanted any part of that taut muscle and graceful physique, all she need do was ask.

Shit.

Ayleth closed her eyes as he leapt in, waiting for the inevitable exclamation that would follow. Most people saw a pool in the sunshine and assumed it was warm. Ayleth knew better. The natural spring water was far from warm, even with the sun beating down onto it for the days entirety. Keremar zinged to the surface in a breathless howl as his body adjusted to the water's temperature.

She started to laugh. She couldn't help it.

"Not what you were expecting, Mr. Holimion?" His last name rolled off her tongue like honey. She remembered how much she liked the way it sounded, how it flowed ever so nicely, especially in _their _language.

Ayleth splashed him gently from her position in the pool, swimming toward him enough to be within an arm's length. She then leaned back and raised one leg out of the water, carefully placing the limb over his shoulder. She hadn't even thought about stripping down to get in the pool. She'd just needed the shock of cold water over her body, but a lot of good that had done and now, she felt like the armor was just weighing her down more than anything.

"Help me out of these?" She asked, wiggling her toes from beneath the long greaves that protected her knees, shins and the very tops of her feet. She didn't wear a lot of armor, but what she did have on was often too tedious to bother removing.

**Keremar tugged at the greaves until they came free of Ayleth's body. He had to perform a sort of balancing act as he did this by planting one foot on a rock he could reach down to and using the other to paddle in such a way to keep both he and Ayleth afloat. It would have been simple to run his hand up her extended leg or to turn his head to feel her muscular calf upon his face but he seemed to resist the urge and instead helped ease her limb off his shoulder and swim over to the side of the pool to place the discarded armor there. **

**"So you've learned to commune with the natural world in these past decades?" he asked while turning and treading water back toward her. "I have heard of communities of Druids. Wardens of the forest who guard against evils or mysterious hermits living alone in a swamp. Did either of those call to you?" Keremar's brow furrowed as he quickly added before she could answer. **

**"Some of those forest guardians were hard at work protecting Neverwinter Forest a few days ago. They should probably be made aware of what happened to Thunderwood."**

**He reached down with his slender hands and splashed the cool water on his face, as if wanting to wash away a cloudiness that occupied his mind.**

Ayleth swam past Keremar to the edge of the pool where he'd placed her greaves. With a little ground beneath her feet she reached beneath the water and began unfastening the thick stockings from her legs, drawing each long sock off and wringing it out before draping over the stones.

"I suppose you could say I've been a druid for nearly twenty years now." Ayleth shrugged. "Though, I only started formally learning the natural magics and beast shaping in the last month or two." She unhinged the wide belt that held all of her skirts together, using her buoyancy in the water to sort of hop out of the ring of sashes and strips of fabric like a skipping rope. "In a way, _both _of those options called to me. I was a hermit first, living in Lurkwood of all places, and now I belong to the Ring of Swords." She pulled the colorful skirt assortment up and wrung it out as well before laying it near the rest of her things.

"You said those _Forest Guardians _were hard at work a few days ago? Were they fending off something?" Ruthfin hadn't mentioned anything that she knew of. She tried to keep her voice mild, but there was the edge of concern rooted deep in the syllables. She drew her long, wet hair off to the side and untied the clingy blouse last. It didn't slide off as easily in the water and she had to twist and shimmy around a little to draw the material off of her shapely form. The water hid most of her from view, but she didn't control her movements to avoid anything coming into plain sight as she wrung out the blouse and tossed it over with the rest.

"And you're right, they should be warned. I believe they do trade with Thunderwood and are likely to check on the village if they haven't already." A little sliver of fear trickled down her spine at the thought of what had overrun Thunderwood and of it reaching anyone at Forest Heart. Ayleth shuddered, but tried to swallow her worries as best she could.

"Did you say you had some way to magically contact people?" She swam back to where he was bobbing in the water. She sort of circled him, floating just out of reach, her attire now mirroring his almost perfectly. "You traveled through the Druid village. Perhaps I can help you get a message to them?"

**Keremar was laying back, floating in the water but could hear what Ayleth was saying clearly. Straightening himself back up, he shook some of the water out of his long platinum hair and nodded. "Yes. They didn't appear to be in immediate danger but were talking about a recent magical fire and strange fissures opening that led to the Underdark. Nasty business that I would have lent a hand with if I weren't on a specific task to find someone in particular." He raised an eyebrow and smirked at her as he finished the sentence, then continued, "As for contacting them, I do know the Sending spell. There were a few people I came into contact with in that Druid village. There was one fellow in particular that pointed me to search in Thunderwood in the first place. Red hair, Half-Human. Reuben or something? I could Send to him and tell him what's happening and he could respond. Do you know him?"**

Ayleth sighed when he mentioned the fires. It had been a couple of weeks since those had erupted and the immediate danger was long past. Relief settled into her shoulders as he eased her fears in a few words. Shoulders that immediately grew tense again at the mention of _Reuben _.

"Ruthfin." She corrected, leaning back into the water to float a top it, gooseflesh prickling on her exposed form where it peaked out of the water. At least this way, she wasn't exactly hiding her face from Keremar, but she didn't have to look him in the eye either

"His name is Ruthfin. He's their ambassador and one of the trainers." _And my lover _. She thought, but stayed mum on the subject. She licked her lips and closed her eyes, focusing to keep her voice as even as possible.

"Yes, I know him, and he's possibly the best person to contact." Her hands flipped a little at her side, steering her away from any wayward rocks. "Is there anything I can do to help? Is simply meeting him and not quite remembering his name enough?"

**Keremar nodded to her. "Yes, Ruthfin, right. Well, it's easier if I can envision the person clearly. I've only met this Ambassador once so I have a vague sense of him in my mind. That slime erasing a whole night didn't help, either." **

**He swam over to the edge of the pool and grabbed on to the rocks, pulling himself up on them and at the same time turning himself around so his legs dangled back down into the water and he could face Ayleth. **

**"Clearly you know him on a better case than one meeting so if you could help describe him to me, the process may go faster?"**

She heard him get out of the pool, but she continued her slow glide on her back, the sun warming her exposed breasts and face where it floated just out of the cool ring of water. She closed her eyes as the clouds parted overhead and the sun became more intense on her face..

"His hair is long and wild, like a lion's mane made of polished copper. Eyes like molten gold...elven eyes. His ears are more human sized but pointed like ours." She felt herself almost drifting into a trance as she recalled the half-human in perfect detail. "He's tall, like you, but his body is broader the way that we can't really achieve. He has a beard that's soft and darker than his hair. Not too long, but just sort of hides his top lip until he smiles. And he smiles with his eyes...warmly. He's approachable and kind but fierce and strongly protective of what he cares for. I believe he might be in his mid-thirties, but who can really tell."

**Keremar sat and listened to the extremely detailed description, absently nodding at first but, as it grew to be more detailed and intimate, gained a look on his face as if he just realized someone was pointing a crossbow at him the whole time. He opened his mouth to say something but then slowly closed it again. "Hmm," he said softly. "That's a very thorough description. Let me get my things." The High Elf stood up, letting the cool water cascade off his slender legs and into its source. **

**"He must be quite the Ambassador to make such an impression." he said with a slight sing-song lilt and then walked over to his backpack. Rummaging through the canvas sack for a moment, he produced a large leatherbound book and returned to the pool, not quite as close to the water's edge as before. The book was blue and silver in its binding with letters inscribed on the cover and spine, letters in an ancient form of Elvish, much older than either of the two Elves present or several generations before them. Keremar sat down cross-legged and opened the book. An ambient magical energy entered the air and permeated it like wind freshly scorched and soothed by a storm. There were more runes and letters on the pages of the book, different and stranger than the ones on the cover. Keremar thumbed through several pages and then found what he was looking for. **

**"This will take just a few moments. Hopefully he's not terribly busy or asleep."**

**The** _**young **_**Wizard traced his finger over the cryptic letters in his book and closed his eyes, his mouth muttering a strange chant that was both familiar and alien at the same time. This continued for a few seconds and then stopped. **

**Keremar breathed in deeply and then tilted his head as if listening for something. An eyebrow raised, a crack of a smile on his lips, and another nod before his eyes opened.**

**"Ruthfin was thankfully simply on a lone patrol. I told him the situation and that we would be handling it. He apologized for sending me to Thunderwood in the first as he thought it was safe and for sending you after. He said he was very glad you were safe and said to...thank you for the gift? He said you would know what he was referring to." **

**Keremar held out his hands in a small shrugging motion and then rested them back on his spellbook, clearly finding comfort in holding it.**

At the mention of Ruthfin's safety, Ayleth felt a tightness in her chest ease. But what _gift _could Keremar have been talking about? She'd brought Ruthfin no gifts, unless their coupling in his treehouse had been considered a gift by the other Druid. The idea that Ruthfin had considered their lovemaking a gift was endearing to the point of drawing a wide grin across the wood elf's face.

"I think perhaps he's referring to some mushrooms I brought back from Mirabar." She lied. "They don't grow here in Neverwinter and are supposed to be a delicacy."

When she didn't hear Keremar get back into the water she stopped floating and let her body right itself. She took a moment to adjust her eyes and refocus on the wizard at the edge of the pool. His face was perfectly blank and unreadable and she wondered exactly what had been said between he and Ruthfin.

"If you're curious, Ruthfin is _my _trainer as well. My mentor. He is who I have to thank for how skilled and strong I have become these last weeks. I've learned a great deal in a short time thanks to his patience and knowledge. Not to mention, he has been there for me through some very harrowing experiences. I'm not sure I would have made it this far without him. So, you should thank him, because I doubt I would be swimming here with you were it not for him."

She swam over to the edge of the pool, crossing her arms at its edge right at Keremar's feet. "Thank you for doing that and easing my fears. I appreciate it." She smiled up at him, little droplets of water running down his perfect body.

She glanced at the beautiful tome in his lap. "Your spellbook is lovely." She realized she knew absolutely nothing of what had happened with her old love in the last 8 decades. Who he had met, what he had learned, where he had lived, who he had loved… "I lived in Silverymoon for a time when I first left home. What about you? How long did you stay in Cormyr? What happened there? How long have you been home?" She reached out with one wet hand and touched his leg. "Reacquaint me with my old friend."

**Keremar nodded and casually flipped back and forth through pages of his spellbook. "It's not as exciting as all the things you've seen and done but it has been a journey."**

**He seemed to take note of one particular page and then shut the book. He then held out his hand with palm open and a white light began coalescing around his hand. Keremar then waved his hand in between them as if wiping it on a window. Where his hand passed an illusionary picture took shape. Green rolling hills, grey mountains on the horizon, and a white stone city with sharp towers crowned with purple flags.**

**"As you know, I had to leave for Cormyr. I was not of age to stay on my own and both my parents were skilled war wizards. The Goblin Wars had gotten particularly bad."**

**Keremar wiggled his fingers and tiny green and black figures came flooding down from the mountains and swarmed the white city like ants. Each time they crossed one of the green hills it became burned. Brilliant lights then shot out of the city, tiny lightning bolts and miniature fireballs.**

**"The war was brutal and I was sheltered from much of it deep within the city, left to practice my magic and martial skills."**

**The image then changed to a smaller and younger Teth, dashing about with a wooden practice sword in hand. "Sometimes not enough study," he added and the illusionary teenage Elf turned to look at something behind him, grew disappointed, reached off into an unseen shelf, and pulled a book down.**

**"Eventually, I came of age, took my name, and got my adventuring license, as is the practice in Cormyr." With this the image changed again to a behind the back depiction of Keremar and some nondescript cloaked figures walking toward a dark cave. Red eyes lit up in the cave and there was a brilliant light as the moving picture of the Elf threw 3 purple magic bolts into the darkness. "I met people there in those times, people I cared about" The adventuring party was now shown sitting in at a table in a tavern, raising mugs to a toast. "Cared about some very much." The image shifted to elsewhere in the tavern where Keremar sat entwined with a distinctly female figure, her hand on his face, seeming to trace his lips.**

**"Things changed in the world and we were all asked to return to the Irongrove." The image was now depictions of Keremar and his parents, all dressed in purple robes, riding through the woods. As they traveled the trees grew larger and took on the shade and size of the great Ironbark. **

**"Your original betrothed's death was not long after followed by negotiations betwixt our families. And then a few weeks ago, despite protests of it being unnecessary, I decided to set off to find you and re-introduce and explain myself." The last image was of both Ayleth's and Keremar's parents, standing with arms crossed as a depiction of Keremar as he was now walked away from them. The small illusion then faded and the tiny play of light between them was no more. "And there you have it," Keremar concluded. "And here I am." He gave her a cautious but honest smile.**

Ayleth watched like an enamored child as the wizard before her wove his tale with lights and magic. His voice took on a sort of song-like cadence and the Druid felt herself lulled by the whimsical tones. She saw Keremar's life unfolding before her. Some things were familiar to her while others were like something out of a bard's tale. When she saw him with his adventuring party her face lit up and when she saw him curled around a mysterious woman, her expression faltered. At the sight of her parents she felt a soft pain in her chest. It had been so long since she'd laid eyes on either of them. Her Mother's proud, beautiful face framed by a fall of raven hair and next to her, the shining emerald eyes of her father, his copper colored locks held half-back and away from his high cheekbones and slender ears. Instinctively her hand reached up, as if she could have touched them in the illusion, but never quite reached the bright magical light.

As the minor illusion faded and Ayleth was left with just his beautiful face to look at, she smiled in soft wonder up at the elven gentleman.

"Keremar, that was incredible! Truly, you are amazing." She flattened her palms out on the edge of the pool and the muscles in her arms flexed as she pushed herself up and out of the water. The air around her was warm and like a balm on her skin as she emerged, naked save for her fine undergarments covering her most delicate of places. "The things you've accomplished and seen," she continued, now pooling water in a puddle just in front of his crossed legs. "And now the things you can do."

She folded her legs so that she was mirroring his stance, her knees touching his. "Would you have left it, if given the choice? Would you have stayed and had more adventures? Stayed with _her _?" Ayleth asked, careful to keep her voice even, though even she heard the slight twinge of jealousy that she didn't deserve to feel. "Would you go back?" She licked her lips and hung her head, embarrassed suddenly by how childish she'd been all those years ago.

"I've not fancy magic to tell my story to you, and it is not so noble as yours." Ayleth sighed and folded her hands into her lap. "I ran away. Sure, we gave it a fancy sort of title like _seeing the world before you do your duty, _but we all know I was running." Her eyes fixed to her hands in her lap. They weren't the hands of some delicate maid or princess in a tower. They were hands that had learned to swing a staff and had climbed trees and mountains, hands that had dug in the earth and had sewed wounds. How different they would have looked if she'd stayed home. "I was afraid of the marriage with Naill." She said his name like it made her sick. "The thought of spending the next seven centuries with him disgusted me. All for the sake of comfort and security, Mother said." Ayleth shook her head as the water from her hair dripped into her palms. "When they let me leave, when they agreed upon 70 years of freedom...I couldn't get away fast enough. I tried every food, went to every boisterous inn and bar, found the most interesting people I could to roam around with. I went wild with the need to experience anything and everything I thought I would be denied. But it wasn't long before I found a lot of sorrow. I'd grown close with a human...and he died. Not of anything heroic, he simply died of old age. Happy in his bed, surrounded by his children, I'm told. But after that...I ran even farther, I ran away from myself, locked myself away in the darkest places I could find. I didn't want to make friends. I didn't want to see anyone, know anyone. I never wanted to be found again…" Her eyes were glassy as the memories flooded past them in her mind. "But fate has other plans it seems." Staring into her palms she conjured a little water lily out of the small puddle of water that had pooled in her hands. Her magic sparkling to life in shades of gold and amber light.

She placed the tiny little flower on the other elf's knee and met his gaze once more. "I wonder what could have been if I had stayed in place. How much different this reunion could have been." She smiled weakly. "I thought about going to you first, in Cormyr. I was only thirty. I suppose you would have still been there at that time, studying away." Her lips smiled but her eyes were sad. "I thought you didn't want to see me and so I went in the opposite direction. What a fool."

**"We were both fools," Keremar said as he sighed. "To answer your question, I did think about staying with her...Simone, was her name. But she wasn't an Elf or any of the other long-lived peoples. She was a Human, simple in her beauty and finite. She asked me to travel west with her, but I refused, knowing that even if she lived long enough to see a long life for her, it would be a blink of an eye for me." He frowned and looked down at the beautiful flower now resting on his knee. "Perhaps that was selfish of me instead of cherishing something in it's time to bloom and accepting that it withers...but like we said...young and foolish."**

**Keremar reached out with a pale slender hand and took Ayleth's tanned hand in his. "Don't ever feel bad about running from a cage. Everyone deserves to make their own destiny, even if it is choosing to walk the path set out before us by others, the choice is what matters."**

**He almost looked like he may move in to kiss her again, they were sitting so close now, but instead straightened up and looked up at the sun now approaching it's full height in the sky. "Well, I'm going to start roasting out here if we don't head inside," he said in a much more light-hearted tone. "Some of us did not acclimate to spending so much time out of doors."**

He was still holding her hand and for a moment her eyes were fixed on that point in space. His paler skin made hers look so much more bronzed. She squeezed his fingers and laced hers suddenly in his. At the shift in movement his eyes focused back on her and she smiled. "You've grown so much, and I don't just mean physically. I don't even know if I could have said what you just said. Even now, I don't know that I have the resolve to simply let go like that. To accept things as they are."

It would certainly have made life easier.

Without breaking eye contact from Keremar, she suddenly called out loudly in common. "Mr. Oaks, Mr. Birch, could we have a little shade if you please?"

After a brief moment, Ayleth heard the shifting of leaves and the rumbling of the two massive trees moving somewhere behind them. Slowly, the sunlight overhead began to break and dapple as the two large trees fanned out to give the two elves some shade.

Ayleth grinned up at Keremar and chuckled at his expression. "This is where I spend most of my time, you know. Out here. You may have to get used to a little more sunlight before we're through." She wanted to say that way for at least a few more moments, exposed and not hiding, with his hand laced with hers. Now, it was her turn to want to kiss him again. "How good are you with hammocks?"

**"Uh...hammocks?" Keremar stammered. He was staring up agape at the trees moving seemingly of their own volition. "I assume you mean sleeping in them and not weaving them together? I've laid in a few, I think." He stood up then, letting their entwined hands come apart. He stretched a hand out and touched one of the trees gently. "Amazing...living, not a construct?" he looked toward her excitedly, then seeming to reconsider if what he was doing was polite, took his hand off the tree. "Sorry, yes...hammocks. Quite relaxing. Do you have some about?"**

The look of soft wonder that lit up his inquisitive face suddenly made Ayleth grin. The awakened trees were always a nice party trick.

She took the opportunity to stand as well, keeping her eyes on the wizard the entire time. "Yes, they're alive, quite helpful too, albeit slow moving." She measured the distance between the two large trees with her eyes; seemed about right. "And no, no hammocks lying about, yet…" She licked her lips, drawing her hand along the soft bark of the Birch tree, her eyes glazing over with a vague concentration. Where her fingertips touched the tree, small vines began to sprout from that same golden/amber light that was her magic. The vines grew and stretched and crossed and wove themselves together in a wide tapestry that stretched and reached and expanded toward the Oak tree. With her will alone she directed the vines toward the other tree and around it until it hung between the two towering trunks, now a vine woven hammock large enough for the two of them.

"After you, Bladesinger." She smiled, motioning toward the freshly constructed bed. "In the shade and everything."

**Keremar was making a distinctly "O" shape with his mouth while watching the vines create their natural hammock. **

**"Incredible. And done with direct magical interaction with the life around you. Yes this should be...very new."**

**The Elf took a few moments to overlook the viney construction as if analyzing how best to approach it. Then, grasping the edge with one hand, stepped over and into the nature-made bed. As the vine hammock swung back and forth from Keremar's body, he grabbed the other end and did his best to steady himself from rolling. This prompted a smile and chuckle from the Bladesinger.**

**"Of course it's you. Of course when something like this happens and I'm lying in a bed of literal vines hanging from walking trees it's with you."**

**Scooting in such a way that left comfortable room for the both of them, Keremar extended out a porcelain hand toward Ayleth. **

**"Shaper of the Wilds, Guardian of the Forest...will you join me?"**

She giggled. She couldn't stop the sound from coming out of her mouth. Were it by his careful execution of climbing into the hammock, or his playful comments about the entire new situation, either way, it was completely _him._

She took his hand and extended one shapely leg over the hammock. She overlapped it across Keremar's legs, easing her weight toward the center before anywhere else. The hammock tilted slightly and she lowered her bottom down into it, keeping balance with her remaining leg before nestling her body down fully rolling toward him and finally letting her other leg come up.

She ended mostly facing toward Keremar's body, one leg curled over him, with a hand on his chest and her head nestled in the crook of his arm.

"Look at us, we didn't break our necks!" She cheered, still giggling. A wave of nostalgia washing through her. Her hand beginning to trace idle lines across his chest. He was warm and almost humming with magic beneath his alabaster skin.

"You know, I don't think I ever heard you sing before." She smiled against his skin. "Your voice is...beautiful."

**As Ayleth's body pressed against Keremar's, he instinctively wrapped his right arm through the small of her neck and around her shoulders. Seemingly timid at first but then relaxing into her, he let his hand fall into the space between her collarbone and right breast, a safe distance away from the crystal in case it decided to shock him again. He took a steady but deep breath in and out, making her head rise and fall on his chest like a boat on an ocean wave. **

**"It's strange being here with you like this," he said in barely above a whisper. "Strange but...so very comfortable and familiar." Keremar lifted his hand from her chest and traced the braided strands of her hair with it, outlining the flowers placed in them. Softly at first, and then a little louder, he began to hum a melody. There were no words, but the vibrations in the tune were rhythmic and enchanting all the same. "When you trance today...what will you think of? Tell me, what pictures and memories you will dwell on."**

Ayleth closed her eyes to the feel of his hands gently stroking her hair, wet as it still was. She listened to his voice as it curled out from his chest and then savored the melodic sounds as he hummed softly in the shade. Even without words, she felt a kind of magic in the music, as if he'd been tuned into the arcane nature of his voice and she felt gooseflesh prickle along her skin as she listened.

"I should be recounting our battle with the Oblex and everything I found about them in that book." It was the smarter thing to do, to prepare for what was to come in a matter of hours. But…

"Though, if I'm honest, I'll probably think about you." She smiled against his skin, kissing the smooth muscle of his chest as it rose with a breath. Her own breaths were a warm brush against his skin, and she peppered tiny presses of her lips along his chest in between exhales. "I'm ashamed to say I pushed you out of my memories for a long time...because it hurt to keep you there." She kissed his skin again, her lips moving across him as she spoke. "I think I'll recall that day I drug you to that clearing and the lake you swore wasn't there." Her smile widened, but she didn't open her eyes or glance up to see his face as she went on. "The daylight was fading and we were far from the Tall Trees of the Irongrove. You were sure our Mother's would be furious. Sure that if we didn't turn back, we wouldn't make it home until dawn." Her fingertips traced a little heart across his sternum. "At one point, you grabbed my hand, and planted your feet, declaring that we would go no further and we would turn back at once!" She did a jovial impression of a frustrated teenaged boy. "I believe I was, what, thirteen? That makes you...well I recall it was just after my birthday so you must have been about sixteen then." She grinned, remembering Teth as an awkward adolescent. Full of all the grace of the elves, but not quite sure how to use it yet. "I pulled you along anyway, pulled you rather sharply through the next thicket and you stumbled, catching yourself on my shoulders...and when you righted yourself, there was the lake before us...and we were so close...I could smell the tea olive oil on your skin...and you looked down at me with a little smile...and it was perfect, but I knew you'd never do it on your own...fireflies began to glow around us and I told you-"

**"****But we'll miss the fireflies…" He finished the thought. His voice a quiet timber.**

Ayleth lifted her head a little then to look at him and as she met his sapphire gaze a lump caught in her throat. With a little wiggle of her fingertips and a choked whisper of incantation, her Druidcraft brought several flickering lights around them. Little dancing fireflies in the broad daylight, glowing softly in the heavy shade of the awakened trees.

"Yes," she said, but her voice broke, eyes becoming glassy. "And I kissed you." She tilted her head up, turning her face toward him enough to catch his mouth in a soft press of lips. She kissed him gently, the hand that had been tracing idle lines slowly sliding up to cup his cheek, as if she were scared he might vanish if she moved too fast. For an instant she was 13 again and they were surrounded by fireflies.

"I owe you an apology…" she whispered across his mouth. "Maybe a thousand apologies." She breathed in and it was unsteady. "The way I treated you earlier...it was wrong of me, Keremar and I realize I don't want you to think ill of me, but I've never let anyone get as close as you." She pulled her face away enough to look him in the eyes. "I've kept them all at more than arms length. Made it a point to take what pleasures I wanted and then leave, letting them be just a pleasant memory on cold winter nights...but never anything more." She licked her lips. "It was rarely anything more than sex or a brief friendship at best…"

Her fingers found a few dry strands of his platinum blond hair, darkened by the water still slowly evaporating. "I owe you more than that."

She swallowed hard then. "But I'm scared…" she confessed, voice barely above a whisper. "I'm so scared. Every day for the last couple of months has been one nightmare after another. Every day there is some new horror to face and every time we do, I'm scared it will be my last. I can't tell you how many times I've fallen unconscious...fallen into darkness and didn't know if it would be the last thing I ever felt." She took in a deep breath but it was shaking. "I came to Thunderwood this morning, prepared for a fight, because that is what I have become accustomed to. I hardly know how to talk to people anymore in any sort of civilized manner because it always seems to come down to blows. But then it was you...the last person I could have expected...and I'm sorry if my reaction has not been what you'd hoped, but by the gods, Keremar, my whole life came back to me in a single breath of your name." She clenched her teeth and met his gaze fully, her eyes shining with a thousand unshed tears. Tears she hadn't let herself cry for fear of drowning in them. "And now I'm so afraid...afraid I'll lose it all. Everything I fought to become and every possibility I could have for a future." She was searching his face intensely then, knowing that one possible future was holding her in his arms. "I've been touched by that Lich...Valindra Shadowmantle." Ayleth shivered at the sound of the name. "I've felt her cold eyes upon me, and an emptiness filled me, stealing the very soul from my body. She is more powerful than anything I have ever known and somehow, we are all bound to her now...and I don't know that there is a happy ending waiting for me, Keremar." She touched his face then, forcing a smile to form across her shapely lips. "Much as I might wish for one…"

**Lifting a hand to cover Ayleth's upon his face, Keremar's brow furrowed with concern and then shifted to smile back at her. His arm around her body moved to the small of her back and he held her ever so tighter close to him, their bodies so close skin to skin as if they were trying to become one being.**

**"I don't know anything about this Lich. I don't know how to make it all better. But I do know a few things with absolute clarity." He planted gentle kisses on her forehead and nose between sentences. **

**"I know that I will help you in any and every way I can. I know that I believe in you, that you can accomplish anything. I know that fear is but a part of bravery and it is how we know we are still alive and sane." **

**Keremar paused and looked deeply into Ayleth's eyes and then whispered, "I know in this moment that I have always loved you and always will."**

It was in that instant, that she let herself fall apart. With him holding her tightly and staring deeply into her eyes, Ayleth Wildsong, once Bryn of the Irongrove, let her walls come crashing down and she cried.

She felt his arms tighten around her as he simply held her for a while, dusting her hair and forehead with gentle kisses. His words had touched her more deeply than she had been prepared for. That he loved her still and always would. Did she love him too? Once, a long time ago, she would have answered yes without hesitation. Now, there was a part of her that wanted to love him again and a part of her that felt as if it could never be his. She was unsure how to trust it all. Could love ever truly be lost?

Ayleth knew that a life not lived fully was not a life at all.

When her tears had calmed, Keremar wiped them away with one gentle hand, still smiling softly at her as he did so. Ayleth echoed his smile and tilted her chin up to catch his mouth with hers. The first kiss was soft and chaste, just a press of lips...and then another...and another, until she parted her mouth for him, tilting her head ever so slightly to invite his closer. She let her tongue dart out and flick inside his mouth, then she tasted his as it slipped inside and slid along her own. Little by little, each kiss deepened further than the last until she made a little needy sound against his mouth. The hand that had touched his cheek slid down his neck and over his chest, trailing a tickling line of fingernails across his taut abdomen and lower still, finding the slowly tightening flesh beneath his breeches. She kept her hand atop the garment, but with delicate fingers, stroked over the hardening line inside.

Keremar's breath shuddered out in a sigh against her lips. "Ayleth…" he breathed her name with slight concern ebbing in his lovely voice. After all, she'd touched him a little while ago and suddenly shunned him as if she'd been burned.

"It's alright now." She murmured, kissing him again. "I'm alright." She reassured the high elf, curling her fingers around him as he grew hard beneath her hand. "I want to know you again, Keremar. I want to know what I've missed…"

With that confession, he seemed to let go of his reservations, kissing her deeply, his tongue exploring her mouth while her deft hand coaxed his body into readiness. "And what if I wish to _know _you as well?" He cooed against her lips, breathing shifting ever so slightly. With the arm that wasn't curled behind her head and back, he reached across his body. He slipped it down the front of her form, caressing a bare breast slowly as her nipple hardened against his touch. After tracing a soft circle around the taut skin he let his hand drift lower, over her tight stomach and to the top of her panties. The lacey material was more for show than true cover and he could feel the delicate form of her body beneath it. With his middle finger he drew a long, firm line across the top of her undergarment and instantly coaxed a gasp from her lips.

Ayleth groaned, her mouth forming a soft O shape as her breathing grew more labored. The leg she'd had curled slightly over his moved away, knee bending as she planted her foot on the hammock, giving his hand more room to work as her own hand slipped beneath the dark grey breeches. She found the silken skin drawn taut and hard and she wrapped her fingers around him, gliding her hand up and down and over the tip of him. He kissed her again as he mirrored her movements, slipping his long fingers beneath the triangle of fabric and between the soft folds of her center. He caressed her gently first, one slow, almost petting motion, and then he let that same middle finger slip down further, then inside and her hips arched ever so slightly toward him as he traced tiny circles just inside her.

She began to find a steady rhythm in how her hand glided over him while he drug his finger in a gentle, but firm line up to a very sensitive knot of flesh and continued tracing tiny wet circles. Ayleth was moaning now, a steady breathy sound that sometimes teetered on the edge of a whine. Keremar's breathing was also growing more erratic as his hips rose in eager greeting to the druid's firm hand.

"Keremar…" she made his name a moan, kissing him as her mouth went dry. "I want you to…" she never really finished her sentence, letting go of him suddenly to push the snug fitting fabric of his breechers down and away from his hips as much as she was able without tipping them over. The hammock swayed a little and Keremar stopped what he'd been doing, moving his hand out of the way so she would be impeded. Ayleth could only get the undergarment down so far without him moving more and they were already precariously balanced inside of a hammock, but she managed to unsheath him from the tight fitting material. She kissed him again, slowly rolling her body more toward him so that the center of gravity didn't shift too quickly. She breathed eager sounds against his mouth as she carefully, and in almost painfully slow motion, managed to get one leg on either side of him. She dared not raise up, for fear of offsetting their delicate balance and sending them topping out of the sling. Instead, she kept her body low and tightly against him as she rocked her hips over the smooth hardness now exposed. "Please, fuck me now." She asked, almost politely, but she bit his bottom lip while she asked and she felt him suck in a breath between his teeth as both his hands were freed.

Keremar wiggled them both down into a more central position in the hammock so that it wouldn't become a problem later. His hands finding the roundness of her ass as he moved them. Then, when he was more certain of their balance, one hand pulled the tiny bit of a barrier to the side while the other guided the hard length of him to the very warm, wet center of her.

For a moment he paused at the precipice, not entering. They had kissed and touched and talked about giving themselves to one another, but they never quite made it to completing the act and then their time was over. They had found other lovers in their time apart, but there was so much history hanging in this moment between them.

"Keremar…" Ayleth moaned in a voice that was almost begging, rolling her hips towards him.

He didn't hesitate further, arching his hips in a slow push inside of her. She cried out and then muffled the sound against his mouth with a deep, long kiss as he withdrew and pushed back inside again. His hands slid up the soft curve of her ass, half holding onto her and half controlling the speed she moved over him.

They found a comfortable rhythm in a matter of seconds, their mouths still tasting and savoring one another in deep kisses.

Ayleth kept herself pressed tight and flush against him so she could feel a kind of gentle friction outside as he pushed his way inside. She wasn't sure if it was because of their foreplay earlier, or simply because everything had built up to this moment, but she felt the warm pressure of her orgasm threatening to overtake her in a matter of minutes.

With the position unshifting and the momentum only increasing, Keremar knew it would be more a sprint than a marathon, but Ayleth's body began to tremble and twitch on occasion as her breathing became more and more erratic. She couldn't keep kissing him as her concentration waived and she bit along his jaw and neck. He caught the lobe of her ear with his teeth, his hips flexing more rapidly as she urged him on.

She gave a long sort of moan and whispered against his skin, "Yes, now...now, now!" Her nails suddenly bit down into his back where she'd wrapped them under him, he felt ever muscle in her body tighten and the warm center he was pushing into coiled around him like a vice. The wizard grunted deep in his chest as she moved more frantically over top of him, her orgasm rippling through her form as she screamed her pleasure against his lips. The hammock swayed, but he paid no heed as his hips bucked and drove into her one, two, three more times before his fingertips dug into the soft swell of her thighs, forcing himself as deep inside as he could as his body betrayed him and he came on the coattails of her pleasure.

When she could breathe again, she kissed her way up his cheek and to his mouth. They kissed for a long time and she gently rocked her hips over him as he spasmed the last of his orgasm inside of her. Without letting him pull out, she nestled her head beneath his chin, holding him as they lay there, spent in the warmth of the afternoon. Ayleth closed her eyes, content for at least these few moments, and she let herself drift into a trance. Dreaming in her own way, about the boy who loved her.

(The title means 'You hold my heart forever' in D&D Elvish)


End file.
